ExpressCard/34 Buyers’ Guide

If you've got a MacBook Pro, you've got an ExpressCard/34 slot (instead of the old PC Card slot). Jeff Carlson explains a few of the ways you can use that slot to beef up your laptop.

Apple offers MobileMe users another free 60 daysApple has given MobileMe users another free 60 days to make up for the service's rocky launch.
Analysis: How Jobs’ profile impacts AppleApple has more than 21,000 full-time employees, but as far as some people are concerned it’s a one-man operation. But the idea that Apple’s fortunes are tied to Steve Jobs generally does Apple more good than harm, analysts say.

Product	Score	Price
17-inch MacBook Pro/2.5GHz	219	$2,679.00
15-inch MacBook Pro/2.4GHz	204	$1,899.00
15-inch MacBook Pro/2.5GHz	222	$2,478.00
13-inch MacBook/2.4GHz (black)	196	$1,479.00
13-inch MacBook/2.4GHz (white)	193	$1,288.88
13-inch MacBook/2.1GHz	180	$1,088.88
MacBook Air/1.6GHz	124	$1,650.65

Product	Score	Price
24-inch iMac Core 2 Duo/2.8GHz	268	$1,721.15
Mac Pro/8-core 2.8GHz Xeon 5400	314	$2,594.57
20-inch iMac Core 2 Duo/2.4GHz	230	$1,147.09
20-inch iMac Core 2 Duo/2.66GHz	254	$1,434.12
Mac mini Core 2 Duo/2GHz	172	$777.77
Mac mini Core 2 Duo/1.83GHz	159	$559.99

Product	Score	Price
24-inch iMac Core 2 Duo/2.8GHz	268	$1,721.15
17-inch MacBook Pro/2.5GHz	219	$2,679.00
15-inch MacBook Pro/2.5GHz	222	$2,478.00
15-inch MacBook Pro/2.4GHz	204	$1,899.00
13-inch MacBook/2.4GHz (black)	196	$1,479.00
13-inch MacBook/2.4GHz (white)	193	$1,288.88
Mac Pro/8-core 2.8GHz Xeon 5400	314	$2,594.57
20-inch iMac Core 2 Duo/2.4GHz	230	$1,147.09
20-inch iMac Core 2 Duo/2.66GHz	254	$1,434.12
Xserve (2.8GHz Quad-Core Xeon) (2008)
13-inch MacBook/2.1GHz	180	$1,088.88
Mac mini Core 2 Duo/2GHz	172	$777.77
Mac mini Core 2 Duo/1.83GHz	159	$559.99
MacBook Air/1.6GHz	124	$1,650.65

Obtaining free GarageBand sounds
Want to add free software instrument sounds to GarageBand? SoundFont is the answer.
ExpressCard/34 Buyers’ Guide
If you've got a MacBook Pro, you've got an ExpressCard/34 slot (instead of the old PC Card slot). Jeff Carlson explains a few of the ways you can use that slot to beef up your laptop.
Record any sounds
Many fleeting sounds that play on your Mac are worth preserving. With the help of the right software, you can record and edit audio files and add them to iTunes for future use.
View inline PDFs in Firefox 3
While you can view PDFs in a browser window using Safari, you have no such luxury with Firefox 3. But now there’s an extension called ‘firefox-mac-pdf’ allows you to do just that.
Bugs & Fixes: Fixing a Spotlight search failure
Ted Landau offers two ways to repair a corrupted Spotlight index—one involving a Terminal command and the other using a shareware program.

When Apple's reach exceeds its grasp
The troubled release of MobileMe, along with iPhone 2.0 and App Store snags, suggests that perhaps Apple is trying to create too many innovative products at once, says Jason Snell.
Don’t be a player hater
PC World lists 11 things it hates about iTunes. If only they had spoken to Christopher Breen first, they might be singing a different tune.
Opinion: What’s in a name?
Apple's simple branding strategy is simply and appealing to the consumer's eye.
How sound is Consumer Reports’ Safari advice?
Safari, the most popular OS X web browser, lacks anti-phishing tools. So should you dump it in favor of a browser that includes such tools? Consumer Reports thinks so.
What will be in Apple’s next laptops?
Intel’s new Centrino 2 platform may make its way into Apple’s next laptops—but don’t count on it. Rik Myslewski looks at the many options available to Apple for its upcoming hardware updates.