http://www.mac-nz.com/rss/reviews.xml The latest Apple Mac and Apple-related hardware and software reviewed for New Zealand and global Mac users Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:37:17 +1200 http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/four_products_in_one_review.html http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/four_products_in_one_review.html Short reviews: This stuff has been building up on me so I decided to do them all in one review: Blue Lounge CableDrop multipurpose cable clips; Australian SmirkAbout budsocks, SmirkAbout iPhone and iPod skins and Norton Internet security for Mac and Windows Wed, 07 Jul 2010 18:16:22 +1200 http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/review_adobe_indesign_cs5.html http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/review_adobe_indesign_cs5.html When I started this, I thought 'great, should be able to knock this review off in no time, it looks almost the same as the CS4 version'. Nope! A week later, I am surprised and pleased to say that's not the case. This new version is close enough that you can keep working without noticing much difference, but when you do start noticing, you'll be very pleasantly surprised. Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:59:43 +1200 http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/adobe_cs5_photoshop_v12.html http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/adobe_cs5_photoshop_v12.html Adobe's new Creative Suite 5 is full of features that will make you work faster, more efficiently and collaborate more easily. I start the reviews with Photoshop, which reaches v12 in this incarnation. Fri, 21 May 2010 13:13:20 +1200 http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/15-inch_i7_macbook_pro_may_2010.html http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/15-inch_i7_macbook_pro_may_2010.html My 2007 MacBook Pro, which I was so proud of three years ago, looks decidedly dated beside the new i7 version. It has a slightly lower profile with the lid closed, more rounded corners to slip into a bag more easily, and its slick, shiny screen is surrounded by the black bezel. Fri, 14 May 2010 09:50:04 +1200 http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/canon_g11_pro-pocketable.html http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/canon_g11_pro-pocketable.html My everyday camera has been a Canon PowerShot G6, a 7.1 megapixel prosumer point and shoot I have been using constantly for nearly five years. The latest in the series, the G11, also gets the ‘prosumer’ title due to its features, high-end processor and the ability to shoot manually (with caveats). Mon, 26 Apr 2010 18:57:09 +1200 http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/canon_ixus_200_is.html http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/canon_ixus_200_is.html Canon's new range of compacts features some touch-screen models like this IXUS 200 IS. It's amazing what Canon can pack all this into such small yet such a competent camera Mon, 19 Apr 2010 17:09:01 +1200 http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/phitek_black_box_m10_headphones.html http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/phitek_black_box_m10_headphones.html Phitek Black Box M10 Noise Cancellation headphones take the pain out of air travel while delivering excellent sound quality Fri, 16 Apr 2010 12:26:35 +1200 http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/apple_aperture_3.html http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/apple_aperture_3.html Two-hundred new features sounds pretty impressive for any software, and it’s hard to imagine how many you could add to what’s basically a pro version of iPhoto. But Apple managed it, for sure. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 15:52:47 +1300 http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/intego_virusbarrier_x6.html http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/intego_virusbarrier_x6.html Another entry into the flashy, powerful Mac antivirus arsenal is Intego VirusBarrier X6. And it does seem to be all those things (both flashy and powerful). Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:22:19 +1300 http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/review_data_rescue_3.html http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/review_data_rescue_3.html I have used Data Rescue in previous versions to restore a lecturer’s lost high-resolution photographs that were inadvertently trashed. What a Godsend! Here's the latest version ... Sat, 13 Feb 2010 17:50:25 +1300 http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/sims_3_world_adventures.html http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/sims_3_world_adventures.html The Sims is one of the few extremely successful computer games with a significant female following, plus simultaneous Mac and PC releases. The first of the Sims 3 expansion packs is World Adventures. Ary Jansen has been reviewing The Sims for national magazines since she was 12 – here's her take on this new game extender exclusively for mac-nz. Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:52:22 +1300 http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/snow_leopard_server.html http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/snow_leopard_server.html The idea with a server is that it’s on all the time, doing its … you know, serving. That’s why a server is normally installed on a standalone computer that’s not doing anything else, although it is possible to use it as your Mac, as the typical Apple apps are all there, just like on any other OS X Mac, (apart from iLife) along with some extra server tools. Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:14:23 +1300 http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/early_2009_mac_pro_quad_core.html http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/early_2009_mac_pro_quad_core.html The benchmark for all Apple machines is the Mac Pro. And it's heavy enough to mark some benches, too. Whereas you may, these days, see the occasionally iMac in pro studios, you’re much more likely to see a great big visual statement of the aluminium tower, purring away in its austere beauty. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:26:41 +1300 http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/21_5-inch_imac_review.html http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/21_5-inch_imac_review.html Containing a 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU with 4GB RAM wrapped in shiny 21.5-inch goodness, this is the bottom model of the iMacs. Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:24:54 +1300 http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/snow_leopard_file_sharing_review.html http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/snow_leopard_file_sharing_review.html Written by Glenn Fleishman, edited by Tonya Engst (Version 1.0, published October 2009 by TidBITS Publishing Inc). Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:16:49 +1300 http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/elements_8.html http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/elements_8.html Adobe has released a new version of its consumer image editing software for Mac. Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:28:35 +1300 http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/stm_latte_13-inch_laptop_bag.html http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/stm_latte_13-inch_laptop_bag.html A chic, stylish but oh-so-practical laptop bag from STM in Australia Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:45:39 +1300 http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/canon_pixma_mp550.html http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/canon_pixma_mp550.html Canon PIXMA MP550 has a self-opening paper tray and a new integrated easy-scroll wheel Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:52:22 +1300 http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/apple_final_cut_pro_7_1.html http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/apple_final_cut_pro_7_1.html Final Cut Pro is top class film editing software used on everything up to full cinematic releases Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:47:54 +1300 http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/apple_final_cut_studio_2.html http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/apple_final_cut_studio_2.html Final Cut Studio review part 2 — the auxiliary apps Soundtrack, Cinema Tools, Compressor. Motion & DVD Studio Pro Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:59:51 +1300 http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/apple_mac_os_10_6_snow_leopard.html http://www.mac-nz.com/reviews/apple_mac_os_10_6_snow_leopard.html OS 10.6 is cheap, impressive disk space regained and it's faster at copying