Since I am thinking of updating my laptop, I was going through my list of applications that I currently use. These are the major applications that I have:

• Acrobat 5 - use to create and Modify PDF douments
• Adobe Illustrator - use to create Illustrations on the computer
• Adobe Indesign - perfect for creating booklets and PDF documents
• Adobe Photoshop - Photo editing tool
• Audio Hijac Pro - Record radio stations
• BBedit - Primary HTML editor on the Macintosh.
• Can Combine Icons - Custom Icons
• GraphicConverter - Use to browse images.
• Interarchy - FTP client
• Microsoft Office - Word/Excel and Powerpoint files
• SQL4X Manager J - Use to access MySQL and SQL server
• Sticky Brain - Use to jot down notes and information
• Toast 6 Titanium - Burn CDs and DVDs on unsupported Mac hardware.

Freeware Applications:

• Remote Desktop - Microsoft remote desktop tool
• VNCViewer - VNC client

I created this list so that I can find all the serial numbers and disks. I know programs like Carbon Copy can migrate data between two computers, but I am thinking of doing a fresh install.

Today I purchased a new 20" Apple Display.

Since 1999, I have been using the Apple 15" display at a 1024 x 768 resolution. The new Apple Displays are much better and have a higher resolution (1680 by 1050 pixels). Putting a new display on an existing computer almost seems like you have a brand new computer.

One of the reasons I decided on going with the new displays was that the computer at work I am using 1280x1024 resolution and I have gotten use to the higher resolution.

The downside of upgrading the monitor is that I can't use it on my Titanium Powerbook laptop. I have to purchase a ADC converter which costs $299. Its almost cheaper to buy another monitor.

I haven't figured out what I am going to do with the Apple 15" monitor.

I have been using BBEdit for at least 5 years on a daily bases. Recently someone told me about Smultron, a powerful text editor for the Macintosh.

This is a pretty cool app, that could easily replace BBEdit if it incorporated one feature, the ability to Zap Gremlins. Gremlins are strange bits of characters that usually appear when I copy text between Windows and Macintosh.

I really like the Code Snippets in Smultron. This makes reusing code a lot easier. In BBEdit, there isn't a way to store code within the app.

I am working on a way to integrate Smultron with Interarchy, its not working as I would expect. But if you use BBEdit, I would highly recommend checking out Smultron.

Oh, Smultron is about $119 cheaper than BBEdit, its free!

If you are using Peak LE, iMovie, or Photoshop and you are experiencing problems dealing with files greater than 2GB, you may need to reformat your drive. If the drive is formatted as HFS or FAT32, then filesize on external drive is limited to 2GB.

You need to format the drive as Mac OS Extended. This will eliminate the 2GB limit problems.

Last year at MacWorld in NYC Griffin Technology announce a new tool called Radio Shark. It like a TIVO for the Radio. I saw a couple of prototypes on the show floor and it seemed like a cool tool. I liked it because it the only audio program that you can set to schedule a radio show. The only other Macintosh audio program that can schedule recordings is Audiocorder.

Its been 1 year since Griffin Technology announced Radio Shark, and the webpage still says it 'shipping soon'. They are about as bad as Microsoft in announcing a product well before its finished.