40 Ways Your Mac Can Improve Your Life
Posted 07/01/2007 at 5:51pm
| by John Brandon
8:30 p.m.: ONE ENCHANTED EVENING
It's been a long, productive (or perhaps not so productive) day. The last thing we'd do is suggest that you go home and do more work. But you can get a lot done with just a few clicks on your Mac - then cut straight to the entertainment.
31. Manage your personal finances.
Yeah, we know, managing our money isn't our favorite way to unwind either. But CheckBook helps tickoff this unsavory chore with minimal fuss. It imports data from Quicken and uses powerful filters to find just the right check number and payment amount you're looking for.

CheckBook dispenses with all the complexity of balancing your bank account.
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32. Host a karaoke night.
Plug Griffin's iKaraoke microphone ($49.99)into your iPod and start singing. The microphone removes the lead vocal track from any song. It also connects to your home stereo or FM radio. Don't bother with screamo bands or grunge, though - the microphone has a hard time eliminating some hard rock vocals.

Turn your iPod into the life of the party.
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33. Use the Force.
Aspyr's Star Wars: Empire at War ($49.99) is a real-time strategy game for people who know the difference between Bodo Baas and Boba Fett. Sure, it's hardcore, but it's also graphically entertaining. One tip: Forget gang rushes, since the game is smart enough to thwart them, unlike older RTS fests.

Spend the evening acting out your Darth Vader fantasies.
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34. Organize and track your Netflix rentals.
Netflix Freak 2.5 ($15) puts all of your rental queues, rental history, and current rentals in one window. It means less clicking around on Netflix, faster searches, and more-accessible, easier-to-digest movie summaries.
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35. Find live music in your area.
See if you like the sound of this: iConcertCal (free) uses your existing music collection to populate a calendar of upcoming live shows. The app - which uses the iTunes visualizer - lets you see where and when your favorite bands (and bands like them) will play your town.
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