Mail Steward ($49.95) is one of those products that Tim would love “You know how I love Mac software that’s simple to use and functional, this is one of those programs”

As for me I am still new enough to this Mac stuff to be in awe of the simplicity of the installation, set up and use of virtually every application, so if I say it installs exactly as you would expect from a Mac application you will know what I mean.

When I first thought about Mellel II ($49 for the regular license) I had to stop and remember the last time that I didn’t use MS Word. I have used it since I can remember, and must have used pretty much every version since Windows 3.1. I remember using something called Display Write Assistant back in the late 80’s when I was doing my Masters. I recall never really understanding WordPerfect, and anytime I got a new PC that had MS Works installed I would immediately install MS Office/MS Word.

AppZapper ($12.95)is for people who want to confidently try new apps while knowing they can uninstall them easily.

In the UK there is a company called Ronseal that have a range of protective products for wood. They use the marketing line “It Does Exactly What It Says On The Tin”. AppZapper could say exactly the same thing. It removes applications as easily as you could wish.’ As they say on their web site “Everybody loves the drag and drop nature of OS X. Drag an application into your applications folder, and it’s installed. You’d think it would be that easy to delete an app — just a matter of dragging it to the trash. But it’s not. Applications install preferences, caches, and other support files throughout your computer that take up space and generate clutter. Deleting these by hand every time you delete an app is a pain.”

As a Mac user it is easy to become blase about the volume of news and information we pick up on a daily basis. Every now and then it is interesting to take a step back and look at things from the perspective of a non Mac user – to see “what all the fuss is about”.

Two things happened yesterday that got me thinking about whether I would pay for Podcasts. First I listened to the Mac RoundTable Podcast Number 005. Second, my wife came back from coffee with a friend and told me about a fat, boring man who sat next to them, monopolized their time, and just kept talking at them about his life.

I am sure you are wondering how these two events are linked, and I will try and explain in a moment, but first let me answer the question "Would I Pay For A Podcast?". Answer is …… At the Moment, No.

Password Retriever allows you to secure your logins, passwords, credit card numbers, receipts, and other information in a customizable secure database with up to 448-bits of Blowfish password encryption.

I have used eWallet on a Palm and iPAQ, and eZCase on a BlackBerry, and whilst Password Retriever is without doubt more flexible and powerful, it is nowhere as easy to use. I recommend that you read the instructions, at least twice!!

This is a Catch 22 product – if it appeals to you, you probably don’t need it, if it doesn’t appeal to you then you probably do. I love lists. I love knowing where things are all the time. I like to know who has borrowed my things, and I like to know what I have borrowed from other people, so I love Delicious Library (http://www.delicious-monster.com/), but do I need it? Not really because I had already created a spreadsheet of all my DVD’s and CD’s, although to be fair not my books.