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.

From The Simple Dollar:

What follows is a list of twenty five pieces of software that are the cream of the crop of open source software for Macs. Not only is every piece of it free, many of them directly replace expensive software packages.

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From Tech Radar:

There are simple steps that you can take in order to optimise your system for better performance. Sometimes this involves a little spring cleaning, other times a combination of hardware and software upgrading. Whichever you choose, it's easier than you think to speed up your Mac. You could even feel like you've got a brand new machine.

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I've been completely obsessed with this idea for almost a year, and have tried it many times with varying success. The idea is that you take a picture of what is behind your monitor, and use it as your wallpaper, giving the appearance of a see-through monitor. It's not as easy as it looks. Here are some mind-blowing images from Madbidouille:

(Click image for larger view)

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MacHeist is at it again. They've just released their new bundle chock-full of great Mac shareware for $49! This isn't a sponsored post... I just use many of these apps, and wish I knew this bundle was coming out. I easily spent the $49 on just a few of the apps listed.

To introduce you to mac shareware, they've put together a bundle of some of the best software offerings from the Mac community, and discounted the whole package to an insane amount. Online sales of the MacHeist Retail Bundle will only be for a limited time.

Here is a list of the apps included in this bundle:

Awaken

Awaken is a digital alarm clock that wakes you up by playing the iTunes playlist of your choice or choose from a selection of built in alarm sounds. Alarms can be created to alert you on a weekly basis at a set time, or at any specific date and time. You can also fall asleep to your favorite music using the sleep timer.

I was starting to sleep through my alarm, so I purchased this app, and have loved it ever since.

Cha-Ching

Cha-Ching is a fun and easy to use money manager, with a slick interface that uses advanced functionality built into OS X. I have been using this for about 6 months, and find it very easy to use. Continue Reading

From the site:

I format my Mac once a year, either because it’s clunked up with old .plist files or because I just feel like performing a zero-out on my hard disk. One good thing about owning a Mac is never having to worry about installing drivers after reformatting. So that’s one problem avoided. Having a checklist of applications to install is quite handy to get my Mac up and running as quickly as possible. So, I’d like to share the applications I consider to be essential:

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10 Essential Mac Apps to Install After a Reformat