Welcome to Apple's iCloud

iCloud is Apple's new service that allows iOS devices and Macs to synchronize automatically and wirelessly by having a "master" depository on iCloud servers. But the move to iCloud can be confusing even to the experts.

Those of you with MobileMe accounts have until June 2012 to make the transition but be aware that iCloud is not a replacement. Several features of MobileMe will be lost.

Macworld publication has put together several very informative articles with details about iCloud here:

http://www.macworld.com/search?q=iCloud#lsrc.nl_mwpvw_h_crawl

Pandora Radio

For the second of my software picks, all you need is a web browser like Safari or Firefox.

One of my MacAddicted friends (thanks, Larry!) recently brought to my attention a unique Internet radio website in which you get to create your own radio stations by choosing the genre or artist or songs you like. There are thousands of music tracks to choose from and artists get paid whenever you listen to one of their songs.

The best way to understand it is to try it out at http://www.pandora.com/. If you like it then register so you can build your stations. They ask very little personal information. And, guess what, it's free! Here's what my player looks like:

The musical descriptions used by Pandora are based on the Music Genome Project

Simple Questions to Help Troubleshoot Your Computer

* When did the problem start?
* Can you reproduce the problem now?
* What is the last thing you changed or added to your system?
* Does the issue disappear if you start up the computer with all third-party internal hardware removed?
* Does the issue disappear if you start the computer from a known-good system disk or external device?
* Is the problem isolated to one specific application?
* Is the problem isolated to one specific document or file?
* Is your computer producing any noise or odors?
* Has it ever worked?

Why I'm here.

I often run into little tidbits that would help others, especially Macintosh users.  This is where I'll let you know what I find.