TurboTax for Home and Business

Product: TurboTax for Home and Business
Company: Intuit
Contact: Click here
Price: $74.95
Pros: easy to use, brings in last years return and Quicken data, great support, free efile
Cons: none
Product Rating: Excellent
Author: Gary Miller, AAUG Member

Conflict of interest disclosure: Intuit TurboTax provided a free copy of TurboTax for Home and Business to me for the purposes of the review.

TurboTax just keeps getting better, easier and more thorough, and affordable, only $74.95, downloadable or get a CD. I chose Home and Business edition because I wanted to see it’s skill on a business, it passed with flying colors.

I used a CD version, just drag and drop to install, it quickly installed, and asked me if I had used TurboTax last year, I did, and then it downloaded updates, meaning new tax forms, new questions to assist me in completing my forms.

Wanting to know what’s new this year, TurboTax now has the ability to double checks, offers free direct deposit to a reloadable VISA card, now it uses flags versus last years bookmarks which I didn’t like, and integration with Apple’s Spotlight search, yea.

Using TurboTax is a no brainer if you value your time and money. Use Quicken, then it easily imports in your data, and same for most banks, securities firms, so it goes fast. All that it doesn’t do, is make sense of all your paperwork, but it does help you organize by good questions,and easy way to look up tax info from the US Govt. Or use the Live Community, that is a group of fellow filers like us, who also are working through their returns. It’s searchable. Want specific Tax help, then for $14.95, you can dial a tax expert that works for Intuit and they will answer as many questions as you have. I didn’t try that, but assume that’s great deal. Alaskans don’t have state taxes yet, so I didn’t use that included feature. I also like that TurboTax has a feedback feature to use at any time, or at the end when you’re either happy or not with your return.

New to using a software program like TurboTax, then you’ll love the guides, in simple English. I liked the ease of the questions. When I was done, the Audit Meter suggested areas I might have overstepped. That was helpful. All in all, a great tool for your taxes. And if you don’t have a business, TurboTax has a free online version too:

RipIt v 1.3.3

by Gary Miller, AAUG Member

Conflict of interest disclosure: the little app factory provided a free copy of RipIt to me for the purposes of the review.

I’m probably like many who want to make your commercial DVD’s playable on your iPhone or ipod, and know you must strip off the companies protection. You own it right, so why not. Well, I am now using a great piece of software called RipIt, the MacWorld winner for 2009, and they are right on. Ripping as it’s called never was easier, and this company stands behind it’s work by guaranteeing that if RipIt doesn’t work, they will buy the DVD and rip it themselves. WOW. You’ll have a digital archive, that’s not compressed at all that Apple’s DVD player will play.

So here’s what I found. I downloaded the app from their website, and it easily installed on my iMac running Snow Leopard, 10.6.2; you’ll need to be running OS 10.5 – Leopard or higher to use it. With it installed, I inserted a movie, and up pops RipIt’s great graphical interface, that makes so much sense, few steps, and it works, period! see below:

It started working, told me how long it was going to take, obviously it takes longer for longer movies, but say 40 minutes for a 2 hour movie.
Once done, you’ll have a .dvdmedia file, or you can uncheck the preference file to get a audio_ts and video_ts unbundled, that way worked when i used Toast 10 to burn it to a DVD. worked great. no issues. no Blu Ray yet.

That’s it. works simply, and if it doesn’t work, the company writes you a ck. and fixes it, who else does that. Yea The Little App Company. Get it!

Notebook 3.0

by Ron Schoedel, AAUG Member

Like you, I’ve got a pretty busy life. Consequently, I need my Mac to work for me and to make my life simpler. That’s why I have a Mac. And for the most part I’ve found some awesome software to help me with most tasks. However, I have been using a major office suite’s word processor for my note taking and outlining needs for the last eleventy-teen years. I never liked it, though. It never really made my life easier, because large documents would crash, finding things was a real chore, and using this word processor bogged down my system. I’ve been on the lookout for a good outlining and journaling program for a while now. I’m pleased to have found Circus Ponies Notebook. Notebook has made note taking not only more productive for me, but actually pleasurable, with just a few very minor quirks.

Notebook packs the power of a relational database in a seemingly simple looking on-screen notebook. It’s the simple interface that may deceive the user into think Notebook is a one-trick circus pony. But it is so incredibly versatile, that I am glad the developers have provided an ample Help system, great tutorial videos, and a “quick start” screen upon launch, to get you into a document pre-formatted for the project at hand.

I have family and church responsibilities to tend to. I have a summer-long trip to Wales I am planning (requiring a check-list for packing, for example), along with the need to keep a daily journal while abroad. I have multiple classes for which I want to take good notes. I will begin working on my JD and MBA later this year, with all of the time management and academic challenges that will impose.

Consequently, I need an information management system that will allow me to work my way, making all of my project data easily accessible. These data come from images I find on the web, PDFs (with my own annotations), Pages files or other documents I have created or which have been sent to me, little snippets of information found on the web or in email messages, maps, sketches, and more. I learned that all of these can co-exist in a Notebook, arranged in a manner that works for me.

Notebook templates exist for such tasks as trip planning, film shoot planning, trial preparation, recipe collecting, journaling, and making a to do list, among other common tasks. Each Notebook is fully indexed by the patented Multidex, a gateway to all sorts of metadata.

The Multidex is a behind the scenes workhorse that stays out of the way, unobtrusively sitting on the table of contents page for each Notebook. It offers access to every phrase that you’ve highlighted, capitalized words, sticky notes, attachments (both current and deleted), website addresses, every single word in your notebook, and more. For example, a document that has lots of proper names is easily searched by the Capitalized Words Multidex, which updates dynamically.

Notebook can mimic a physical binder, complete with a simulated spiral binding and with sections denoted by colored tabs, titled for each section created. At first it may seem somewhat contrived to duplicate the appearance of a physical binder. But the beauty of this is in its ability to make you feel comfortable, as if you are right at home with a binder or legal pad. In fact, you can even specify the background on your notebook, for example, legal pad yellow, white ruled, graphing paper, steno style, and other backgrounds that replicate dead-tree notebooks.

Now, with respect to the tabbed sections: If you were working on a research paper, you might create a section for research notes, one for sources, another to collect random ideas you may get, a section for outlining your paper, another for your first draft, and so forth. An OS X Service offers the ease of clipping and copying any data you come across on your computer (such as on the web) into your Notebook, and it helpfully provides a link back to the source.

But wait, there’s more! By easily adding a “Clipping Service” to any Notebook page of your choice, you can even toss information into a Notebook without it even being open! Say you’ve set up a travel planning notebook, and you’ve got a “wish list” page for things you may want to bring with you. Add a clipping service to this page. Whenever you’re out on the web and you a link you’d like to add, highlight the link or text on a webpage, and OS X’s services menu will offer the option to add your text to the notebook page. A clipping sound effect verifies that your link was properly filed and awaits your later use.

I’ve begun journaling using Notebook. The interface is friendly, and the ability to jot down items at random as I think about them is very useful. Sticky notes get lost too easily. Even electronic Sticky notes get hard to manage. Launching a full-on word processor takes too long, and then you’ve got the problem of naming and saving the file, which will likely be forgotten about and left to rot in a cluttered Documents folder. Notebook eliminates this hassle and allows for quick trips into the program to jot down a thought and exit, all in just a few seconds.

Preparing comprehensive and usable outlines is another task I am working on mastering. Notebook makes this possible with the simplicity involved in moving text around. If I need to make a new heading, or a new child or sibling object, it’s as simple as clicking the beginning of a text object, and dragging it somewhere else on the page, such as under a more appropriate heading. The ability to collapse outline sections I am not actively looking at (i.e. get them out of the way) makes for a very clean looking page. Minimal distraction equals optimal productivity. Never again will I try to use that unnamed Major Software Word processor for outlining.

So what didn’t I like? I found it impossible to select multiple lines of text (which I here define as “sections” of text separated on a page by a carriage return) to which I could apply changes, such as tabs. Maybe it’s possible, but if so, I couldn’t figure it out. Consequently, I had to manually drag the little tab stop arrows individually for a dozen or so return-split sections of text while realigning an outline (which, I should add, Notebook helpfully and correctly formatted as such using a special command). Applying highlighting to selected text seemed more difficult than it could have been. Seeing as how the customizable toolbar contains a Highlight icon with a drop down menu of highlight colors, I figured I could just drag to select some text and then choose a color from this menu. What I actually had to do was invoke a command from the Edit menu, with a keyboard shortcut of control-option-command-H. A bit less intuitive than OS X Preview’s highlighting feature, which I have gotten used to.

Also, there is a bit of a learning curve, but thankfully Circus Ponies’ website has some great introductory videos. I recommend you watch them before jumping in, so you can get started already having a good idea of just what Notebook can do for you. Empowerment is always a good thing, right?

I first read about Notebook on a blog written by someone who indicated they switched to Mac just to be able to use Notebook after seeing it on someone else’s computer. I’ve been a lifelong Mac user, so I did not have to switch to avail myself of this software gem. However, I can wholeheartedly say that Notebook offers such a simple but powerful revolution in information management, that it ranks as one of my top apps for productivity increase potential. The generous 30-day trial period is worth checking out and the nice academic discount makes this a natural addition to any student’s MacBook. But as I hope I’ve shown, Notebook has applications far outside the realm of academic life. It is hard to explain all of the neat little nuances and features of Notebook. Download the trial and give it a whirl yourself. You may even begin to enjoy managing your information again, no matter how much of it you have.

4.5/5 (if I had to give only whole moose, I’d go with 5, though)

Conflict of interest disclosure: Circus Ponies provided a free copy of Notebook 3 to me for the purposes of the review.

Stellar Phoenix Macintosh 4.0

by Ron Schoedel, AAUG Member

Stellar Information Systems has released version 4 of their Macintosh data recovery software, based on an almost 20-year history of providing physical drive servicing for purposes of data recovery. I was unfamiliar with the company prior to reviewing this program, but I was impressed with Stellar in that the recovery tools are easy to use and powerful. The terminology used in the program is straightforward and understandable by pretty much any modern computer user. You don’t need to understand the nature of different drive formats, sectors, blocks, or any other unusual terminology. Upon launch, the user is presented with the choice of what sort of media recovery to initiate: drive recovery, iPod recovery, Photo recovery, and other tools useful for resuming a scan or replicating a failing drive.

Within the Drive Recovery, one can scan the entire drive for files or look especially for accidentally deleted files. Stellar can scan and recover from any “drive”, be it your internal hard drive, external USB or Firewire drives, USB thumb drives, camera memory cards, or iPods. I put several devices through the recovery process and the results were both impressive and a thought-provoking reminder of how absolutely essential it is to destroy unwanted data, especially if you are passing on a device to another person.

Files on my hard drive, long deleted, were discovered instantly. Scanning my relatively new internal hard drive, Stellar discovered several gigabytes of deleted files residing on my hard drive. The program’s window is divided into three main sections: a file explorer “tree” view on the left, a file selection window in the lower right, and–going beyond what other similar programs offer–a QuickLook preview of potential recovery subject file right above the file listing. I’ve used other data recovery tools which end up losing the file names and which don’t provide much insight into what the found files are (no live preview). Stellar provides an exceptionally user-friendly experience in this regard. Recovering a file is as simple as selecting it, checking it (and all others you want), and then clicking the Recover button. A Spotlight-like search tool is included, but my experience was that it produced more beach-ball spinning than results. Perhaps this was due to the large amount of files found.

I often work with files of a sensitive nature (usually for clients), which need to be destroyed after being given back to the client. For these purposes, I utilize the Secure Empty Trash feature built into OS X. Sure enough, testing Stellar proved to me that Secure Empty Trash is indeed secure. None of these deleted files ever showed up in a search or recover mission. The lesson here is: use Secure Empty Trash with care, because once you run it, your stuff really is history.

Stellar can recover files from deleted partitions, drives with bad sectors, and from drives recently formatted. I ran Stellar on a USB hard drive I had recently done a “quick format” on. As I expected, everything was still there and recoverable. Having accidentally formatted a drive in the past, I know how nerve-wracking it can be recovering these files. But the good news is they are generally still there and accessible with Stellar. When running Stellar on a photo memory card (Secure Digital, SD), it found photos that were taken from several “formats” ago.

As long as your computer or camera has not had the opportunity to rewrite to the exact blocks occupied by “deleted” files, you will generally have good luck retrieving said files. However, the more often you format a device and write to it, your chances of retrieving old files diminishes as they get written over and permanently lost, one by one. The rule then is that as soon as you realize you may have deleted something by accident or formatted a drive inadvertently, immediately STOP using that drive until you can plug it in to your Mac and launch Stellar Phoenix.

In the several tests I threw at Stellar Phoenix, the software dutifully resurrected my files from the digital bit bucket. Where it found files, they were all intact and ready to restore.

It’s important to note that data recovery software is not a replacement for a regular backup system. Backing up your data keeps you protected, whereas data recovery ought to be seen as a fall-back, last-ditch effort. But when you need it, Stellar is downloadable instantly and ready for use. A physical DVD option (at extra cost) provides a bootable disk for use when your Mac won’t startup due to a corrupted hard drive.

There are several good options for data recovery for the Mac, all priced about the same. Stellar Phoenix comes onto the scene with a solid background (the company has been serving customers with data rescue needs in Europe and Asia since 1993) and a utility that will pay for itself very quickly. And just to give you a bit of peace of mind, you can freely download and run Stellar Phoenix on your crashed drive and pay only after it has demonstrated the ability to find the files you were searching for (only after paying and registering can the found files be recovered). The software business doesn’t get much more user friendly than that.

Conflict of interest disclosure: Stellar provided a free copy of Stellar Phoenix Macintosh 4.0 for the purposes of this review.

Griffin elan form etch i-phone case, solstice design

by Maria E. Viteri, AAUG Member

Conflict of interest disclosure: Griffin Technology provided a free copy of Elan Form case to me for the purposes of the review.

When I first slipped on the Griffin elan form etch i-phone case I knew immediately it was a vast improvement over the rubbery case I had been using. This Griffin case was hard, sleek and elegant compared to the primary colored, rubbery, ill-fitting case I first bought when I picked up my new i-phone. I received the new case for free at an Apple’s users group meeting and now I am writing a review.
How was this case an improvement? First of all it looks good. As you can see it has a pleasing design of tree limbs with leaves in off white and black. It continues the theme of slim and sophisticated like the i-phone itself. It fits. The Elan fits the i-phone perfectly. Just slide it on the phone. It is durable. It is made of a hard non slip plastic material that has a thin soft padding on the inside where it touches your phone. No scratching like other jackets I have heard about. It protects. On the outside it is hard and elegant looking. It has the appropriate sized openings for the camera lens and the side panels. It works. It has sustained the accidents onto the floor and under the car without hurting the i-phone.
Once I dropped the phone in this case under the car. The color did make it hard to find in our gray and white winter world. Since it was winter and I was in a big hurry to get to my class I sent someone out to retrieve it. It was hard to see in the gray of morning but it was quickly found and fished out unharmed and looking as good as the first day I got it. Unlike a leather case the plastic jacket remained unblemished. Another plus, you don’t have to open it up, your phone is right there at all times. That is a big plus for me.
I like this case. It is sturdy and protects. However, it’s color makes it hard to find unless you have a special place for it in your purse or always put it in the same jacket pocket. As I am writing the case has aged a little and the color has faded from an off white to more of a tan color. I am not sure it this is a result of how I have treated the case or not.

Switching to a Mac for Dummies, 2nd Edition

by Kathy Matsumoto, AAUG Member

CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE: Wiley Publishing provided a free copy of Switching to a Mac for Dummies to me for the purpose of this review.

I am a novice Mac user and I have been attempting to make the adjustment from using a PC to a Mac. I thought written information would assist in my transition and, after receiving my dummies book, I immediately began reading through it. The Table of Contents makes it easy to find subjects you are looking for. The first chapters of the book are very basic, exactly what you would expect if you were new to the world of Macs. I will say that throughout the book, the author writes as an enthusiastic fan of Mac products and his cheery attitude builds excitement for making the change to Mac. As I skimmed through the information I was familiar with, I learned about the command key and other unique features of the Mac. Chapter 5 was the most helpful one for me because it contained a great table comparing terminology between Windows and Mac. Also included in Chapter 5 was a list of keyboard shortcuts.

Tips, things to remember, and warnings are highlighted throughout the book making it easy to thumb through chapters and find important items. The author spent quite a bit of time discussing passwords and security. One important thing I learned was that the author does not recommend downloading virus protection unless you are also planning to install Windows on your Mac.

I was especially interested in learning about Snow Leopard but was disappointed when reviewing the book. Although the book’s cover states “get the most from Mac OS X Snow Leopard” I didn’t find any specifics. The book does state that Snow Leopard is an updated version of the Mac operating system and is version 10.6. Information on what makes Snow Leopard a better operating system would have been helpful, even if release notes from Apple had been included.

What helped me: Chapter 5: Mac OS X for Windows Users. This chapter, as I stated earlier in my review, has terminology, keyboard shortcuts, and information on Time Machine and Time Capsule and other differences between Macs and Windows.

What I have yet to explore: IPhoto (Chapter 12), Producing Movies and Music (Chapter 13), and Building Your Space on the Web (Chapter 14). I have uploaded photos to my Mac and my son has used IPhoto to play a slide show accompanied by ITunes music. The slide shows are so much fun to view.

Bottom line recommendation about book: This book provides a good overview of the differences between Macs and Windows. The author definitely is a Mac fan and recommends Macs for their quality. You can find terminology, program information, and lots of tips if you have questions and don’t want to search Help on Apple’s web site.

Bento 3

by Zachary Zaletel, AAUG Member

Bento, a great way to get yourself and most all of the stuff on your computer organized. That isn’t the slogan that the good folks at Filemaker use for the newest release of their database for the rest of us (it’s a ‘personal database’), but they easily could. While this isn’t the first or second AAUG review of Bento (see Carlene Brown’s 12-08 review of Bento 2 here), this is my first real exposure to the program. Before I get into the my opinions about it, let me give a quick overview of the three biggest updates in my eyes:

-iPhoto is now better tied in – an answer to one of Carlene’s previous complaints.
-Security options are available – password protect and or encrypt fields so as to not leave important things out in the open. An answer to another of Carlene’s previous complaints.
-Multi-user sharing – it won’t serve as a central data repository for a huge organization, but for you and up to five colleagues, ‘mi casa es su casa, y mi bento es su bento’. Filemaker must’ve read Carlene’s review, because they’re three for three.

Okay, so other than those changes, how does it stack up for a new user? Some good and some so-so. Took a look through the basic iphoto, ‘photo details’ presentation. The template is nice, clean, uncluttered. A great start at a content management system. I can plug in style and any particular category for later sorting, add my comments and ruminations about how the shot came together and other details. Great. Then, just for comparison, I opened iPhoto (‘08 in my case currently) to double check it’s annotative skills. Basic info, with comments and categories (also faces in ‘09). Score one for Bento.

I browsed through the included templates to see what was available, and settled on the vehicle maintenance maintenance template. I’d recently purchased a new-to-me 1988 Volvo 244, and what better way to try and keep track of what I’m doing to it and how much I’ve got out of pocket. Setup was easy and I was off and rolling. Plug in the initial purchase price, other ancillary parts and pieces to bring it back into running shape – great. Being a bit of a shutter bug, I grabbed a photo of the car from the day that I got it home and moved it to the original purchase record after adding a picture field. Not quite drag and drop, but I figured it out without too much trouble. Add a few more records, get the total tally going for my expenditures and things feel like they’re starting to come together.

Now we come to the point where I want to add a few more photos to other items in the file, and I find myself flailing around. Try to drag and drop from the iPhoto library to my vehicle library and it asks which record I’d like to add it to. Great! Click on the appropriate record and, well, maybe something happens. No feedback from clicking add to record. I go to check the record and, well, looks the same as before. Hm. Try again to the same result. Must not be doing that right. Try a few other intuitive-to-me techniques to little success. Try deleting the picture that was in the record from adding it to the first record, and now no dice. Right click to try to add a photo column to the list view similar to what is shown in the iPhoto library and, again, not an option. After some additional futzing around, come to find that all the field types are not available from the program area itself, and trek up to the Insert menu. A few seconds later after adding a ‘Media’ field, I attempt to add the photo to a record again. Same result as before. Becoming frustrated, I decide to take stock.

Ultimately, I like the concept quite a bit. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t keep everything as well organized as I should or would like to. Bento is an easily customizable way to do so. Adding fields, tallying info and more takes little more than the flick of a few keystrokes and mouse-clicks. The photo integration isn’t quite yet there for me, but it has potential, and certainly would work well out of the box as a content management system. Without a workgroup to test it with, I can’t comment on how well the multi-user sharing work. Where does this leave us? Bento is a solid program that will allow the basic user to fire up the pre-installed templates and start chugging away with project plans, contact organization, photo management and more with ease. Advanced users can do the same or use any of the templates as a jumping off point to create the exact information management tools that they need. Whether or not Bento is the right tool for you depends your information organization needs… and if you information organization needs some help, Bento may be the helping hand you need.

Bento requires OS 10.5.7 or later, and should run on most any modern Mac. Disclaimer: FileMaker Inc. provided a free copy of Bento 3 to me for the purpose of this review.

Parallels Desktop for Mac 5.0

by Ron Schoedel, AAUG Member

Parallels has come a long way since 2006, when the little-known developers from Ukraine released the first version of Parallels Desktop for Mac to run Windows on then-new Intel Macs. Less than four years later, Parallels is at Version 5 and sports a new look and new integration features designed to make using Windows a little more Mac-like. With competition from WMWare to keep the stakes high, Parallels has not stayed still but has pushed Windows virtualization on Mac into the future once again. This is not emulation as you may recall from the days of Virtual PC.

As an incoming law student, I am required (if I wish to use a Mac at school) to have Windows specifically as a Boot Camp installation for exams, which run in a special “lockdown” mode. Were it not for this, I would run Windows in virtualization only. But since I mostly want to use my Windows apps within the Mac OS, my primary criteria for a successful Parallels experience is how well it can run Windows from my Boot Camp partition. I was not prepared for how incredible and impressive the experience would be.

Parallels’ “out of the box” ease of installation is, um, unparalleled. When I launched Parallels, it immediately detected and offered to start my Boot Camp partition. It took several minutes to automatically install Parallels Tools into Windows, which is the magically delicious utility that makes Windows aware of things like Mac trackpad gestures, keyboard input, mouse movements, and other goodness. Less than 10 minutes after downloading the Parallels installer, my Windows XP Boot Camp partition was being virtualized before my eyes.

The next pleasant surprise was that, without any configuration, internet access in Windows just worked. Parallels passed through my internet connection without any hassle or difficulty whatsoever. No need to fiddle with (or know anything about) NAT or IP addresses or ethernet adapters. Ditto for sharing of my Mac OS X Home folder. It just showed up under “My Computer” with no configuration necessary. (The preferences do contain the option to turn off this feature and entirely isolate your Mac from Windows, if you prefer.)

The next task was to install some software in the virtualized environment. I elected to download and install the Microsoft Office 2010 Beta. It was a hefty download, but the data throughput in Windows matched that in Mac, according to my monitoring of KB/s download speeds. I choose to use the Coherence feature, which Parallels debuted a couple versions back, which presents my Windows applications on-screen, set against the backdrop of my Mac environment. All of the Windows toolbars, taskbar, and desktop are hidden, and I get Windows apps with drop shadows that integrate pretty well into my mix of Mac windows that are on-screen. Using the new “MacLook” feature, I skinned my Windows windows to appear similar to OS X. The Windows minimize, maximize and close buttons in the upper right were replaced with the familiar red, yellow, green “stop light” buttons in the upper left, as in Mac OS X. Also, the window toolbars, buttons, progress bars, and the Start menu took on a more Mac-like appearance, with icons that even matched their Mac counterparts. Smooth, Parallels, smooth.

Parallels places a Start menu icon in the Mac dock as well as a Windows app folder at the far right end of the dock, with my Mac folders. Accessing any Windows app is as simple as accessing any file or app on my Mac. It is this sort of polish and attention to user experience that is making Parallels 5 such a joy to use.

In the Parallels preferences is a check box offering to balance performance between my Windows virtual machine and Mac OS X. That sounded good, so I checked it. I gave my Windows box 1 GB of RAM and 256 MB of VRAM, also in the settings, and then booted up with the intention of getting into my Windows apps to see how well they perform.

Office performed exactly as I would expect it to. Typing, scrolling, opening, saving, and working within documents seemed to be at native speeds. I could tell no difference between working in Office in Boot Camp and in Parallels. It all seemed the same to me. Same for OpenOffice, Internet Explorer, Safari for Windows, and Minesweeper (seriously, I put Minesweeper through a strenuous workout).

Next up, I tried a game that requires 3D capabilities. I’m not much of a gamer, so I don’t have big-name games to try and FPS stats to boast about. But I do have Lego Indiana Jones for Windows. I’ll admit to having been skeptical of the 3D video claims at first. But after installing the game, switching Parallels into Full-Screen mode, and launching Indy, I was just amazed at how smooth the graphics looked and how well the game played. I imagine there must be some frame rate difference between running the game in Boot Camp versus Parallels, but playing the game I noticed no difference to my eyes.

With all of the praise I have to heap upon Parallels, I also have one bone to pick. Installing the included Kaspersky Internet Security utility was a disaster. I got an endless loop of error messages about outdated definitions, followed by a complete inability for the program to update itself. Each attempt to download the updates resulted in a complete hang with no progress after a minute or so. Removing the Kaspersky Internet Security program proved difficult, and even after uninstalling it, Windows insists on popping up reminders to tell me that the (now-uninstalled) Kaspersky Internet Security was not turned on. To me, this suggests that uninstalling it did not really uninstall all of it. I’m going to have to work on this, because I really do want an antivirus app running if I am using Windows.

I have owned and paid full price for both of the major virtualization programs over the past few years. I have used them both, at various times. Parallels has leap-frogged the competition with this newest release. Parallels has a new home on my Dock.

Yes, we have truly come a long way in the world of Windows on Mac. If all you remember of Windows on Mac was how launching a document in the old VirtualPC could take minutes, you owe it to yourself to download the free trial of Parallels, grab a free trial of Windows, and check it out. Now, if you have no need for Windows, don’t bother. But as millions can attest, for those of us with at least one tie to the Windows world (which even I, as a 20-year avid Mac user have a few such ties), Parallels will make your life much simpler and enable you to use the programs you must use on the computer you WANT to use. And that, friends, is worth the small price of admission to the world of virtualization that Parallels provides.

I feel like the difficulties with the included antivirus software do pose a problem, but not a big enough problem to detract from all of the advances Parallels has made and from the shiny new version that runs solidly in literally every other respect. A solid 5 moose rating goes to Parallels 5.

Get Backup

by Anita Williams, AAUG Member

This program is ideal for computer users that are remiss at saving their data on a regular basis despite the warnings, pleadings and dire potential consequences that can befall them (us). The program is easy to download and is fairly intuitive for those of us who are causal users. One nice feature is after the initial save of data the program can then provide backups on a regular basis and only add new files and/or specifically noted files. I decided to start fresh and download all my files and applications and that process took a substantial amount of time. I am assuming that the next incremental backup will be fast and easy. Backups can be made to any locally mounted device or drive which is a handy feature. Backups can also be scheduled at regular intervals. The program takes over from the less reliable little voice in your head telling you to backup your data. And speaking of backups, the program has four different encryption standards for security if storing archives in locations where others may have access. This feature provides assurance that your data will be secure from unauthorized access.
Many of us have a laptop and desktop computer and keeping the files and data current between the two can be a challenge. Get Backup comes to the rescue again with their data sync feature. It allows two-way synchronization between your devices so your most current files and data are available. Now this is a feature I could learn to love. And again updates can be scheduled at your convenience. The sync page is the flip side of the backup page. It can be accessed through the menu or just by clicking the arrow in the upper right hand box of the page. There is no longer an excuse for not backing up computer files.

Neoprene Large Notebook Sleeve (Model 97763)

by Shawn Robinson, AAUG Member

Conflict of interest disclosure: Fellowes / Body Glove provided a free 17″ Laptop Sleeve to me for the purpose of this review. 

The Body Glove notebook sleeve is a basic solution to the problem of protecting your computer from the other things you have rattling around in your school backpack. 
It is not a stand alone piece of protective luggage that you would use to carry your computer in while on a vacation. It does not have a handle, a shoulder strap or any distinguishing characteristics whatsoever. This sleeve is described on the Body  Glove website as “Large” and “Designed for notebook computers with screens up to 17inches”. This is misleading since the sleeve is not a good fit for a 17″ notebook, but rather anything smaller. I have used it for my 15″ MacBook Pro and found it was nice to have a little extra room as opposed to having to carefully and cautiously stuff a 17″ Dell into the sleeve. The zipper will close with a 17″ notebook, but it is snug. The material is similar to a dry suit and offers some protection from minor bumps  and scrapes. I would recommend this sleeve as a dust cover and scratch deterrent when carrying your notebook in a backpack or suitcase. It has no handle and would not offer serious protection from a fall or drop. It is also very basic and very plain. The outside, the inside, the logo and the zipper are all matte black. Most other notebook sleeves available offer several colors, exterior designs, better fit and adequate protection for less than $30.00. Even the most basic sleeve fro Case Logic has a silver zipper and a small decoration on the exterior for less than $15.00. I like to personalize my computer; make it different. This sleeve leaves no way to do that. The material is good at repelling stains and also at repelling decoration. About the only way you could modify this sleeve would be with an id tag attached to the zipper.  Just make sure it is black. 

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