The Mac’s window-based user interface was cutting edge in 1984. And while OS X has features that the first Mac users couldn’t have dreamed about, the basic metaphor for interacting with our machines hasn’t changed all that much in the last few decades.

Finding the perfect solution for managing my to-do list is--like the list itself--a never-ending quest. Between my tasks for Mac|Life and routine errands like giving the dog his monthly flea treatment, paying the cable bill, and remembering the grocery list, keeping track of my lists is often a chore in itself. Sure, old-fashioned pen and paper work just fine for a lot of things. But since I find myself moving between several Macs--not to mention multiple iOS devices--in a given day, it makes a lot more sense to keep track of that stuff electronically.

Tracking your work hours has evolved considerably since Fred Flintstone held a slab of rock in a bird’s mouth and bonked it on the head. Virtual TimeClock ’10, the latest product to tackle the job, has refined employee time tracking to the point where clocks, cards, and their attendant administrative tedium are handily tamed. As the name suggests, Virtual TimeClock replicates the functionality of the traditional employee time clock.

With the Mac’s drag-and-drop interface, you’d think duplicating files would be a snap. And if all you’re doing is a simple, one-time copy job, it is. But OS X doesn’t offer much help if you want to regularly keep files in sync. Sure, Time Machine handles backups, but even that has its limits. You might want to work on your local machine for speed’s sake, but then regularly copy your work over to a network drive, for example. Or maybe you have a set of working files that needs to be dumped to a USB stick at the end of every work day. GoodSync can handle both of those situations easily--and it can be used in place of Time Machine if Apple’s simple backup doesn’t quite meet your needs.