How To

CollageIt Free seems to be making its way up the ranks in the Mac App Store, so let's take a look at what this free collage app can do.

When you first launch the app, it opens a window with a variety of templates spread across four styles: Mosaic, Grid, Center, and Pile. After you choose a template, you can then start adding photos to the app to start making your collage. You can either use the "+" button in the lower-left corner of the CollageIt window to browse photos to add to your collage, or you can simply drag more

The new MacBook Pro with Retina display has many noteworthy features, from a unique 2,880x1,800-pixel screen to new Nvidia graphics to large SSD storage options. But, the most surprising may be the multiple video outputs -- something not seen on a MacBook before now.

The last several generations of MacBook have had either a mini-DisplayPort or combo Thunderbolt/DisplayPort jack. HDMI has been on our most-wished-for lists for years, so Apple finally adding HDMI (which is found on pretty every other current laptop) is a big move, especially when combined with a second Thunderbolt port.

The initial review of the Retina Pro more

Sometimes dragging a cursor to select a portion of your screen to capture doesn't cut it. If your work demands screenshots that are sized just right, and you are on a Mac, take Precise Screenshot out for a spin. This $1.99 app lets you save preset sizes among other convenient controls.

When you launch the app, it places a small icon in your menu bar and opens three windows: a red framed capture area, a control panel, and a small preview window. You can drag the sides or corners of the red frame to resize the capture area,

The final build of Windows 8 is due out sometime later this year. If you're considering upgrading your current PC to Windows 8, you might want to get a head start on preparing for the upgrade. Here's how to check your PC for Windows 8 readiness, using the Windows 8 upgrade assistant:

To download the upgrade assistant, go to the Windows 8 download site, then click on the blue Download Windows 8 Release more

If the Internet and Facebook specifically have become a distraction during your workday, MenuTab for Facebook may help you stay on target. This Mac app gives you quick access to Facebook from your Mac's menu bar, saving you from having to open a new browser tab or window. Whether this leads to less frequent or shorter Facebook sessions is a question only you can answer for yourself. The app is free, so it won't cost you anything to give it a whirl.

When the app installs, it places an icon in your Mac's menu bar. Click on

All of Apple's computers feature a headphone jack or sound output of some kind, but only a few of them offer a recording input. The iMac includes one, as well as the 15-inch MacBook Pro and the Mac Pro desktop, but you won't find one on the MacBook Air, Retina MacBook Pro, or the 13-inch MacBook Pro.

So what's an audio geek to do (aside from invest in a decent USB sound card)?

Well, in the case of the 13-inch MacBook Pro (old and new), Apple includes the option of a switchable audio port than can be more

The primary filesystem format in OS X is Apple's HFS Plus (or Mac OS X Extended), which is the default used for any newly formatted disk. However, to increase cross-platform support Apple has included support for several other filesystem types, including FAT32, UDF, UFS, and NTFS (in read only mode), in addition to several networking filesystem protocols such as AFP, NFS, and SMB. While this support does allow a decent amount of flexibility in what disks can be handled by OS X, it does leave out support for some popular alternatives such as the ext2 and ext3 formats used more

If you have used OS X, then you likely have at least come across Apple's Preview application, which is Apple's included program for providing basic viewing, editing, and conversion capabilities for PDF and image files. While the program is useful for opening and managing individual files, there might be times when you would like to open groups or folders of files.

One option for doing this is to select the various files to open in the Finder, and then open them in preview by dragging them to the Preview application's icon. However, you can also do this more

While it's easier than it used to be to play media files, occasionally we run across a clip that just doesn't work right -- or at all! This is usually because of a missing file called a codec that tells your computer how to translate the media correctly. CodecInstaller will search your computer for codec files and help you get the right codec for any particular media file you want to play. Here's how to use it:

1. Download and install CodecInstaller here.
2. Run the app and click Installed Codecs to check your computer, if you're interested.