It may not be a loud issue, but there's a good number of Powerbook users who have had the desire to take advantage of the Bluetooth functions that their computer can wield but trouble in finding the perfect proximity detector application has prevented them from doing so.

Security issues have compounded this minor irk in the Apple computing world. Along with the ability to sync and remotely access peripherals came risks of exploits from other users. To date, there's a handful of proximity programs but only a couple give some real satisfaction.

Proximity is among the most popular applications of the sort because it efficiently does what it says it will: provide you with Bluetooth proximity detection. There are absolutely no frills, no complicated menus and no confusion involved. The only chink is that there's also no security functions.

Home Zone, on the other hand, is another cool program that offers a few security functions and some added oohs and ahhs. There's little to complain about the Bluetooth detection, but as a special bonus, it also has WiFi detection capabilities. The catch? It's only in its beta stages and it still isn't too user-friendly. We hope that the aforementioned factor can be addressed because Home Zone is such a promising project.

Other than the two, there's not a lot of other choices. The demand for a great Bluetooth app may not be overwhelming, but we say Apple can be that much better if it gives this little alley in its community a closer look.