Location is everything. Your real estate agent knows it, and now your Mac can know it too. Sidekick (previously NetworkLocation) can automatically change your Mac's settings based on where you are: home, work, your favorite coffee shop, you name it.

Obviously you'll be connecting to different networks at all these locations, and your Mac handles that already, switching to known networks as it detects them. Sidekick takes the idea further, by letting you configure multiple locations where you'll use your Mac (based on the network and/or the geolocation data), and specifying plenty of settings for each location. You can choose a default printer, set the display brightness, enable AirPort and Bluetooth, change the system volume, connect to a server, open applications and URLs, run AppleScripts, and more.

When you arrive home, for example, Sidekick can disable your screensaver password, start up your favorite iTunes playlist, tweak the EQ, and change your iChat status. An Advanced tab in the Configure screen even lets you change settings based on what's plugged in to your Mac.

Sidekick's built-in actions deal with OS X settings and Apple software (Mail, iChat, iTunes), but free plug-ins on Oomph's site add actions for a handful of third-party applications like Microsoft Outlook, Adium, and 1Password. The plug-ins feel a little buried—we couldn't find them mentioned in the app itself, only in the Help documentation and on the site. And Oomph also includes a link inside Sidekick's Configure screen to email suggestions for new actions, a nice touch.

The bottom line. Sidekick doesn't feel absolutely critical; it doesn't do anything you can't do yourself with a lot of clicking and fiddling. But if you bounce between the same locations frequently, it can sure save you a lot of clicking and fiddling. A video tour or tutorial could help you make the most of its robust feature set, but the 30-day trial gives you plenty of time to discover how it can help your particular situation.