If you've read this blog for any time, you'll know I'm not only a HUGE Apple/Mac fan, but I also have an unhealthy love with TUAW. I didn't expect my feedreader to be active today, but good ol' TUAW has written some of the coolest posts I've seen, and I wanted to share them. If you received a new Apple product today, there's a good chance one of these posts will be just for you, and if you're new to the Apple family, take a second and subscribe to TUAW's RSS feed (feed link)!

This is a nice "Welcome to the family" post. It discusses the ease of setting up your new Mac, explains MobileMe, and Windows compatibility. This is a very solid post getting you started with your Mac, and helping you find ways to expand your experience - and if you don't get enough from the post, check out their Mac 101 series for even more tips. Worth a read if you got your Mac today, or have had one for years.

This post has a ton of good information of accessories like cases, power adapters, and a handful of other useful items every MacBook owner should know about. The last item discussed is AppleCare, and I can't stress how important I feel that service is. I'll let TUAW explain the deets on it, but just know that I'm a huge supporter of AppleCare.

Since the MacBook Pro is often used as a desktop replacement, this post goes into more depth than the MacBook post. This post discusses ideas for travelers and gamers, and has a few nice software suggestions, as well as a nice list of cases to consider.

My niece got one of these a few months ago, so this post came in very handy. I'm an iPhone owner, and didn't realize there were so many differences between the two. This post has a nice list of apps to get you started, lists a few good cases, earphone suggestions, and is just a well rounded guide for getting the most out of your new iPod Touch. My personal favorite is the "Oooh and Ahhh Demo" mentioned at the end of the post. We've all done it, but now there's a guide for it. On a side note - the Nike+ app for the new iPod Touch is too freaking cool to not be available for the iPhone.....just sayin'.

THIS is why I love TUAW! They miss nothing when it comes to Apple. I never would have thought to do a post on a gift card, but this post has 8 tips on how to use your shiny new gift card. Pure TUAW awesomeness!

I went to the Apple Store in Orlando yesterday, and it was the first time I got to play with the new nanos, and they're so much cooler looking in person. I imagine this will be one of the most read posts in this series, and the information discussed won't let you down. Consider this a guide for setting up, using, taking care of, and anything else nano related. Very thorough.

I was starting to think TUAW made a mistake with this post, but then I started thinking about how amazing Macs are with digital media. I own a photography company, and use Lightroom and Photoshop almost daily. I think I took for granted how easy it is to process digital photos on a Mac, but TUAW really goes into great detail about using your new digital camera on your Mac.

If I didn't do video editing, I would have purchased one of these instead of my Mac Pro (though the iMac handles video editing just fine). Like the other posts, this discussing everything from getting started to printing on your new iMac. I'm pretty sure you'll find the Mac 101 series a huge asset with the iMac too.

The phone that started the touchscreen revolution. The TUAW post has info on cases, apps, links to user guides, and plenty of basic info to get any new iPhone owner headed into iPhone bliss. If you got an iPhone today, head over to this post and bookmark it. It provides everything you need to become a master of your domain device.

The "Jaw-Dropping" in the title might seem a bit dramatic, but it's not. Following are 18 of the most amazing Christmas light shows I've ever seen. If you're a fan of driving around looking at Christmas lights, you'll want to grab a cup of cocoa, and throw on a blanket while you watch - although a few of them (I'm talking to you techno houses) might make you sick. These displays put my Charlie Brown-esque tree and one strand of lights to shame.

Takes a Minute to Load - Sorry

1. Christmas Light Show - Amazing Grace Techno
Continue Reading

If you're anything like me, you like to change your wallpaper often. Below are what I consider the best HDR wallpapers in Flickr. To see the wallpaper version, click on the title, and then click "View All Sizes."

Stiftsruine Lippstadt #2

Very First HDR

Mt. Tolmie stairs, HDR and color rotated

sunset at werder

live beside the church

heaven knows what I want

friendly tractor

somewhere in oderberg

castle rheinsberg

kloster Lehnin #2

by the water

Amtsgericht Wedding

evening scenery at werder

stairway to the water

main castle babelsberg

We've all been stuck in situations that we didn't know how to handle best. Hell, they even made a Twix commercial about it.

Here are 8 situations (guys only) with answers whether you should "Shut Up," or "Squeal."

1. A friend is really bad at his job, and it's obvious he'll be fired.
Man Code: SQUEAL. A good friend would tell him, "Dude, I'm hearing things. You'd better talk to the boss." An okay guy deserves a heads-up.

Continue Reading

If you forgot what I'm doing here, here's a quick reminder. I search Google Trends once a week, and I take the #1 searched term, add it to the Flickr Creative Commons search, and post the top pictures for that phrase. Seemed like a dumb idea when I started, but people seem to love it, so here we go again.

Today's most popular search term is CC sabathia. Here are the pics that came up in Flickr:

1. CC Cy Young

2. Cleveland Indians in Detroit - CC Sabathia

3. cc sabathia

4. cc sabathia 2

5. CC Action

6. Fightin' Phils

7. Sawks

From Noupe:

Icons is everywhere on the web. In most modern designs it is used to not only complete our design but also to attract the user’s eye. Designers use Icons to create breath-taking designs and decorate their desktop as well. Today we’re going to take a look at 50 most beautiful icon sets we’ve found over the year 2008.

My Take
Who doesn't love Icons? This is easily the best list of icons I've seen. I especially like the hand-drawn doodles, and the social sticker icons. If you need to update the icons on your site, this is a great place to start.

When you think of musicians, you usually think of the glam, parties, drunken brawls, and all the other fun stuff we hear about, but not all rockers live this impressive life. The 25 musicians are so awesomely whimpy, the had to be in a list.

25. Robert Smith

Beginning with the Cure's first B-side, "10.15 Saturday Night," which finds its narrator sitting home crying, waiting for a girl to call, Smith has made a fetish out of romantic disappointment and pioneered a vocal style in which he sounds on the verge of breaking into heaving sobs at any moment. His tent-like black sweaters, smeared lipstick and messy bird's nest of dark hair have become the uniform of choice for generations of histrionic white kids convinced the world doesn't understand their pain.

Wussiest Moment

"The Lovecats," the Cure's fluffball 1983 hit, which features Smith literally meowing over a tune best suited for preschoolers.

Continue Reading

First things first - I hate when people write posts apologizing for being gone an extended period of time, and they come back and promise to do better. That's not what this is.

Listropolis was hijacked. Not as bad as MakeUseOf getting hijacked, but still pretty bad. I was able to get the front-end online after about an hour of downtime, but I could not sign in to the backend to explain what was going on.

I think things are back to normal, but now I think I'm going to change the look of the site, so please accept the apology for the past week or so, and the next day or two while I work the new look in.