Filemark maker can convert any PDF, text, MS Word, Excel, or high-definition picture file into a bookmarklet. (There is a 6mb filesize limitation). Just drag-and-drop any file onto the Filemark Maker application droplet and Filemark Maker lets you bookmark that file from within Safari. So the next time you sync your iPhone’s bookmarks, all of your files you saved into Safari are now accessible on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

In case you are wondering, these special bookmarklets work by converting the data stored in the file into a javascript statement. Filemark Maker composes the javascript and allows you to save it in the form of a Safari bookmark, which can be synced to your iPhone or iPod Touch. Since all of the data needed is stored in the bookmark, the iPhone is able to render the file on-the-fly without the need to load any information from a server. What’s great about bookmarklets is they don’t require a user to hack or jailbreak their iPhone or iPod touch. It’s an efficient and secure way to store and view your static documents on-the-go.

There are some other bookmarklets out there that utilize javascript that enable an iPhone or iPod Touch user to do other cool stuff with MobileSafari. There’s a handful of them available at LifeClever, including a “find on this page” function. PixelSpread has created another awesome bookmarklet that allows you to override a site’s iPhone webclip icon and replace it with one of your choice.

Filemark Maker is freeware and is available for download from the Monkey Business Labs website.

Previously with iLife ‘08, making a fully-customized Ken Burns DVD slideshow was impossible. The closest you could get to a fully-customized slideshow involved making an iPhoto slideshow with custom Ken Burns effects and audio, exporting it to a QuickTime file, and importing it into an iDVD project. However, it was impossible to add and mix multiple audio tracks into the slideshow and iPhoto’s user interface made customizing each photo’s effects awkward. The entire slideshow production workflow just wasn’t thought out very well by Apple.

Thanks to the iMovie code rewrite, photo slideshows are now fully customizable and easy to produce inside iMovie. iMovie is no longer sluggish when importing and encoding photos, start-and-end Ken Burn frames are now easy to manage, and managing multiple audio tracks and transitions are more intuitive than before. iMovie ‘08 also has much-improved transition management.

But on the other hand, Apple’s new iMovie rewrite has left a few features out that many will miss, such as movie themes and video effects. Fortunately, the iLife ‘08 installer does not remove the previous version of iMovie, instead moving it inside a directory within the Applications folder named “iMovie (previous version)”. Hopefully Apple is already working on implementing the various features they left behind with iMovie ‘06 into the new iMovie in a future software update, because once iMovie has those great features back it will once again become the easiest-to-use, most stable, and most fully-featured movie production application.

First off, I wish to clarify my feelings towards these types of articles, where the author only gives his/hers first impressions of a product. I do not believe that a switcher can successfully provide enough information to support his case for or against a product only after thirty days. It’s ridiculous that an author can achieve so much information to already form conclusions only after working with a product after thirty days. I do not believe that a product as complex as Mac OS X (or any other OS) can be given a fair review after only thirty days of on person’s experiences.

In many arguments Brian made, it was obvious he didn’t have enough experiences with OS X to fully support his arguments. One of the arguments he discussed against using a Mac is the lack of a stable, functional word-processor. The author listed all of the major word-processors in the Mac market, but failed to give his feelings towards each of them. He complained about the Microsoft Office and iWork trials, but never actually tested the fully-functional registered product, which is essential to truly understand the software. Possibly if he had given iWork a sincere try, he would have grown used to the rich features Pages and Keynote provide, compared to Microsoft Office. Additionally, I challenge his complaints towards a lack of a freeware word-processor. In respects to Windows, the exact circumstances apply. Windows usually comes with a demo version of Microsoft Office, and doesn’t have a complete, stable freeware suite of office applications that fully match the capability of Microsoft Office.

I would also like to mention the great chance that Apple will bundle its iWork and iLife suites into Leopard, therefore making the office and multimedia suites free. This actually presents another strong case defending OS X from one of Brian’s arguments, which is that this article was published only two weeks away from WWDC. It should be noted that this article is judging years-old software that are soon to be updated. Microsoft Office, iWork, iLife, OS X, and even the Mac Mini he used are all about to be upgraded soon.

Brian also admitted that “I didn’t want my experiences with the hardware to taint my results evaluating the operating system”. But unfortunately, much of his review was really based off of the hardware he was using. So, to be fair, its not right to judge a piece of software by the hardware you test it on, especially if that hardware is the cheapest offering available.

Also, he blamed his unsuccessful attempts to play 3D accelerated games on a Mac due to the hardware, without providing any evidence for support. In case he doesn’t know already, Boot Camp is beta, and not to be used without acknowledging that fact. It is not fair to judge a piece of software based on its beta versions. Plus, he should have clarified that Intel Mac Mini and MacBook models do not have an independent 3D graphics card, and the performance when attempting to display 3D graphics will simply not compare to a Mac that actually has a 3D graphics card. So, if you are looking into buying a Mac for gaming, maybe its best you upgrade to either an iMac or a MacBook Pro.

Other simple arguments he made against OS X further made me lose my beliefs that this author knew enough about the subject to know what he was talking about. A few of these cases include:

1. His belief that “Safari’s not as polished as FireFox”. Joking, right? If not, try Camino.
2. In order to disable Dashboard you must “go into the command-line terminal and enter a few complex commands”. -Onyx, a great freeware utility app.
3. His theory that Mac OS X doesn’t have a wide-variety of freeware selection. -MacUpdate.
4. Not researching to find out how to take screenshots of DVD Player in action. -Try Screenshot Plus or using Terminal commands.
5. Upgrading RAM with a Mac is difficult. -Actually try upgrading the RAM before making inferences that it will be difficult.

Moreover, probably the most ridiculous part of the article that genuinely describes Brian’s complete ignorance is his comparison of Windows Vista’s anti-piracy protection and Mac OS X’s deep ties with Apple hardware. Apple’s decision to tie down its operating system to its hardware is really a business strategy to couple products for profit and boost product performance and stability, which is totally irrelevant of a business strategy that prevents pirates from using and distributing pirated version of Windows. It’s sad that this author’s definition of DRM has been skewed to this degree, and the confidence the author had in this definition allowed him to make such preposterous accusations.

Simply put, thirty days of experiences just simply doesn’t allow an author to fair review a product as complex as OS X. Maybe if Brian continued to work with OS X on a number of environments and systems, after a year he would really be able to give a fair analysis of Mac OS X. Especially considering the fact that he’s testing an operating system and hardware that are soon to become obsolete.

Another benefit to Afloat is that it is served as a System Preferences pane, rather than a background or menu bar application. Afloat requires the SIMBL framework, which can be installed via the Afloat preference pane once installed. Afloat is a Universal Binary and is compatible with Mac OS X 10.3.9 and higher (including Tiger). Pre-Release v3 of Afloat 1.0 is available as a free download.

Make your windows float above all others, make them transparent at the scroll of your wheel or in a single keystroke, and move them without having to go search for the title bar. All of this, for most Mac applications, in just a few clicks.

If you have never tried out UNO, I suggest you give it a try and see how you like it. Current UNO 1.3 users are recommended to update to version 1.3.1.

The update includes:

1. Support for iTunes 7.
2. Fixed a bug that would prevent UNO from applying to Firefox and Thunderbird on some system setups.
3. Spotlight and Apple menu items are now back to default size (due to massive request).
4. Fixed a very notorious UI glitch found on Microsoft Word, Printer Setup Utility and Extensis Suitcase (Open/Save Panels and Alerts’ background was not themed).
5. Fixed a rendering glitch on Adobe applications like Photoshop, ImageReady, Illustrator.
6. Italian and French localizations.

I ordered the case through Marware’s online shop (which happens to be built with WebObjects) and got it a couple days later. I have been using the protection pack from Marware for over a week, and I must say I’m very happy with the protection and comfort Marware’s product.

The PVC leather handrest cover was a pain to get on perfectly, but because the cover is restickable, I didn’t have to worry about messing up. After I placed the cover on, there were no bubbles due to the cover’s thick layer. I immediately noticed the difference when I started typing with the new cover. The cover makes typing much more comfortable compared to the aluminum, when your hands get sweaty and sticky to the metal. Marware has also made sure that the cover is designed to not interfere when closing the laptop. My only concern with the handrest cover is the Marware logo placed right under the trackpad. It really doesn’t bother me, but it may annoy other MacBook Pro users.

Marware’s protection pack also includes a keyboard cover to protect your keyboard and to be used as a lint-free cloth to clean the MacBook Pro’s LCD screen. Although, I am somewhat disappointed in the cover. It barely covers the keyboard, it has no way to stay on the keyboard, and it obviously doesn’t protect your keyboard from liquid spills because it is made of cloth. But on the other hand, the keyboard cover is a good cloth to use to clean the LCD screen. But if you are looking for a keyboard cover, the Marware protection pack is not for you.

And the best thing about Marware’s protection pack is its price. The MacBook Pro protection pack is available at $19.95 for both the 15-inch and the 17-inch models. Marware also makes protection packs for both black and white MacBooks, which could protect the MacBook’s plastic from discoloration and other wear marks. In addition, Powerbook and iBook users can also order protection packs for the same price.

BitPim saved my LG VX8300 and me from Verizon’s crippled OBEX. BitPim doesn’t exactly have an iApp interface, but it does have potential. Setting up my phone on BitPim wasn’t necessarily “simple”, but it was possible. Here are the steps I took to pair the phone and my Mac with BitPim via Bluetooth:

1. Check to see if your phone is compatible with BitPim.
2. Open the Bluetooth preference pane in System Preferences.
3. Turn on Bluetooh.
4. Click “Set up new device…” in the Devices tab.
5. Walk through the Bluetooth Setup Assistant and pair the phone with your Bluetooth-capable Mac.
6. Download the latest version of BitPim.
7. Open BitPim and access the BitPim settings.
8. Select “Phone Wizard” and select your cell phone carrier, manufacturer, and cell phone model.
9. Click next and choose either “auto” or one similar to “/dev/cu._________-BTDIAG-1″.
10. Click “Detect Phone” to test the connection. Passed means BitPim found and communicated to your phone. If BitPim does not detect the phone, click back and choose another Bluetooth port. *Make sure your phone has Bluetooth powered on.
11. OK it.
12. Be amazed.

Uploading ringtones was really easy with BitPim, because all of the editing capabilities needed to make the MP3 file compatible with your phone is all in BitPim. When uploading MP3 files as ringtones, I suggest using only a 30 second clip of the song with a 7-9 db volume. Uploading wallpapers and pictures are also easy, with editing capabilities within BitPim to upload your wallpaper at the correct resolution for your phone.

BitPim also lets you download your pictures from your camera phone with ease. After downloading to BitPim, you can export your pictures to the Finder or iPhoto. But make sure when you upload your files to be careful not to select “Replace All” or all of the files could be erased either on your phone or BitPim.

BitPim also includes functionality with other important features, such as calendars, digital phonebooks (vCard), memos, SMS, to-dos, call history, etc. Some phones do not work with some of these features, visit the BitPim website to check if your phone is compatible.