As Apple gears up to reveal OS X Leopard (among other things) at next month's Worldwide Developers Conference, some people are beginning to wonder precisely which Mac models are going to 'make the Leopard cut'.

What's left discussions on this topic wide open at this point is the fact that no one knows for sure how Apple's going to do it. Will those that run the G3 or even the G4 processor be excluded from the list? Or are the good folks at Apple to decide based on the speed of the machines' processors?

eWeek's David Morgenstern thinks that if the decision is to be processor-based, it's unlikely that Apple will exclude all the G4 and G5 machines, at least not just yet. Apple still does sell computers that run on PowerPC processors; the company's transition to Intel isn't complete yet, which means that there isn't a large enough base for Intel machines for the company to go by. In addition, the last G4 machine, a 14-inch iBook G4, was discontinued just last May. If Apple does choose to go by processors, it's likely that it's the G3 machines that'll be denied a chance to 'get with the program' due to their age; the last G3 model sold was a variant of the iBook that was axed in 2003 (two OSs back).

But Morgenstern also thinks it's possible for Apple to base its decision on video RAM, or VRAM. Many older Macs lack VRAM, so, if Apple goes by a base level of installed video RAM, most (but not all) G3 models and many of the older G4 models, like the Cube, the older PowerBooks and the first few PowerMac G4s could be left by the wayside.

Any ideas? What do you folks think? Hopefully Apple will clear up this issue next month at the WDC.

Apple's MacBook was put to the test by Yahoo! Finance's Robert Weston, and it's passed with flying colors. He's found that it looks sleek, runs very fast and should give manufacturers of Windows- based notebooks cause for concern.

Weston loved the MacBook's versatility. With extra software, it can of course run Windows and OS X - and with Parallels it can even switch between them at the press of a button. The 'BlackBook' he tested was a speed demon, too (when running software optimized for OS X it "felt significantly speedier than the PowerPC-based system it replaced", although older software designed for PowerPC Macs was relatively slower).  He also thought its dimensions were well-nigh perfect; the MacBook is only over an inch thick, a whopping 20 percent thinner than the iBook it replaces.

Weston also praised the laptop's display (the first glossy display on any consumer laptop from Apple), the machine's ability to display music, photos and movies when connected to regular TVs, and the sensitivity of the Wi-Fi antenna.

Just about the only things Weston didn't like were the MacBook's heft (it's 5.2 pounds, a little heavier than he'd like) and the lack of a dedicated graphics card for the gamers. But that didn't appear to give him pause at all; he says, "Overall, the MacBook is a well-priced laptop that fits the needs of most consumers... Combine [its] ability to run Windows at native speed with Apple's renowned knack for elegant hardware and software, and it's a formula that should give other PC makers nightmares."

Sounds good enough for me - although I might just wait until Apple solves the discoloration problem first...

In the eyes of its adherents, Mac OS X is far superior to Windows. Whether or not this is the truth, OS X still does suffer from problems every now and then (well, nothing's perfect), especially if and when users have it do more intensive tasks like video editing.

James Stoup from Apple Matters has put together a beginners' guide to fixing OS X. He stresses that it's meant to be taken neither as a comprehensive list of solutions nor a substitute for Apple-certified help (well, it's a beginners' guide after all, and available for free to boot).

So without further ado, here are Stoup's list of steps to try in the event your Mac starts hiccuping, listed in the order in which users should attempt them.

Restart. This is the easiest and the most basic thing you can try, and can fix many types of problems.

Delete preferences. Stoup recommends that if one of your apps is acting up, delete its preference file, which is stored in Library/Preferences, by moving it to the trash. The next time the app is opened it'll automatically generate a new preferences file. (You'll need to reset all your preferences afterwards, of course.)

Run maintenance/Clean cache. You can also try to download Cocktail or Onyx - cleaning scripts run automatically by OS X which in turn run OS X's CRON scripts at a default time (you'll need to have your computer on at this time though, and not on sleep either). They're shareware - something to keep in mind.

Run Disk Utility. Pop your OS X's install disk in your drive and restart your computer while holding down the 'C' key. This will force your machine to boot from the disk and not the hard drive. When it boots up, look in the menu for the Disk Utility option and click on it; this opens up the Disk Utility interface. Just click on the repair disk option to activate it.

Reset RAM. This will force the hardware to clear and reset the PRAM and NVRAM. It's easily done; you just need to hold Command-Option-P-R when the Mac's booted up. It'll reset the clock, too, but hey.

(At this point Stoup warns his readers that every solution after this point will take a bit of time and/or money to implement.)

Run Disk Warrior. This is a program by Alsoft which is apparently very easy to use and does wonders for corrupted directory structures. Two caveats, though - using this app can result in data loss, so you should back everything up before you give it a try; plus it costs $79.95.

Run Tech Tool Pro. Micromat makes this program, which lets you defrag your hard drive, recover lost data and back up your system, among other things - good for serious data recovery work. It takes a little while to work, but it's great for serious data recovery work (at any rate, it'll let you get your data back before your computer dies completely). It's not at all cheap, though. It'll set you back $98.00.

Run to the Apple Store. If you don't know it yet, these stores have free diagnostic service - all you need to do is walk up to the Genius Bar and ask for help.

Reinstall OS X. Stoup says this is your option of last resort, and I think that really is about the size of it. Make sure you back up your data first, though! Completely erase your drive first and then install OS X - the archive and install feature, he says, will allow some of your system to be saved so it can be reviewed after your install. Important note: this feature shouldn't be used as a substitute for a good third-party backup.

If ever any of you give this a try please be sure and tell us all how everything goes. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll never need to do anything more drastic than, say, clean my Mac's cache - but at least now I know what to do just in case. Knowing, as the well-worn saying goes, really is half the battle.

Apple's iMac is arguably its most stylish desktop computer, and now that the current model's getting a little long in the tooth, many have been beginning to wonder what the next-gen one could possibly be like.

Kromekat on Renderosity has posted an eye-catching concept of a future iMac on the site's forums. MacFormat Magazine commissioned him to come up with this concept for a recent article of theirs. He based the design on Apple's current design trends and the previous iMac, which Kromekat says is his favorite.

Kromekat's concept iMac is built around an ultra-thin 30" LCD screen that's totally transparent when the computer's off, and which users can set to various degrees of translucency. The keyboard, too, is completely transparent, very low profile and - shades of the old Powerbook - features light-sensitive illuminated keys. Everything's wireless, too.

I don't know about the screen - is technology like that already available, and if it is, could it be cost-efficient enough to be used in this sort of application? It really is a beautiful concept, though, and I hope the next iMac takes after this one, even just a little bit. What say you, Apple?

The world - and I'm not referring to just the Mac faithful here - has been hearing about Boot Camp for a while now. People have been singing its praises right from the start, and many a reviewer has been putting the program through its paces on his or her computers, trying to see if it's worth all the acclaim.

Personal Tech Pipeline's Michael Brandenburg spent a month running Boot Camp on his MacBook Pro, and has come away handily impressed. As a matter of fact, in his own words, "After a month of having it all in one machine, I wonder how I ever survived with only one operating system."

Firstly, he says, although installation of Boot Camp does require up-to-date software and firmware, it's pretty straightforward - you just need to let the installer do its thing and run the Boot Camp Assistant. Brandenburg's only big dilemma during this process was when he had to decide how to format the new Windows partition: formatting the space as FAT32 gives the Mac OS full read/write access to the Windows drive, whereas creating the drive as an NTFS partition only gives OS X read access. FAT32 is less secure and/or stable than NTFS, and Brandenburg decided to go with NTFS as a result.

Brandenburg also found out that there are a couple of rough patches when OS X and Windows are running on the same machine.

• The Mac OS X can at least read the Windows drive, but Windows can't make heads or tails of the Mac partition. (A product called MacDrive from Mediafour competently takes care of this oversight, but it still is very much an oversight.)
  
• Mac's adherence to a one-button mouse directly clashes with Windows' right-click requirements. This isn't the problem it once was, though, due to the fact that OS X supports two-button mice, and besides, a right-click function of sorts does exist in OS X, as any Mac guy worth his salt knows - hold down the 'Ctrl' key while clicking. (Software applications do exist to make up for this, too.)
  
• OS X and Windows interpret the system clock differently. The clock gets thrown off when switching between the OSs - in Brandenburg's case, by five hours (!). It's the easiest issue to solve, though, as users just have to sync with a network time server to fix it.

Brandenburg finds these glitches merely minor annoyances, though, and says that they'll hopefully be dealt with once and for all when Boot Camp's officially launched with Leopard in 2007.

On the whole, Brandenburg's negative experiences with Boot Camp didn't detract from the ease and convenience it afforded him. He found himself leading some sort of a dual life with his MacBook Pro, running Windows for corporate applications during the day and OS X for personal stuff afterwards. He concludes by saying that Boot Camp "works like a champ to bring the true Windows environment to Mac machines", and adds further that "if the final release straightens out a few quirky driver issues, Apple will have a real winner on its hands." I can't agree more - I'm very much looking forward to Leopard's release to see just how much better Boot Camp will be once Apple's ironed out all its kinks.

Tech guy Tom Ierna is the proud owner of an Apple eMac. When he found out that his beloved eMac's analog board was in need of replacement, and that a new one would cost a whopping $500 (and, in addition, that his machine couldn't qualify for Apple's warranty repair extension), he began to consider drastic measures.

Ierna spotted a Samsung 17" flatscreen monitor and came up with the bright idea of replacing the eMac's problematic old CRT with an LCD, which would allow him to bypass that faulty analog board and give his eMac a new lease on life. And his hard work paid off! His modded eMac's a beaut!

He's posted an illustrated procedure on his blog, which I've condensed and summarized for your viewing pleasure.

MacUser's Andy Ihnatko's put together a list of what he's determined are the best Mac OS X features most people don't seem to use (or aren't even aware of in the first place).

First on his list are OS X's Speech Commands. As Ihnatko points out, Macs come standard with a whole slew of voice commands for such functions as navigation and application switching. Plus it's a cinch to add new commands, as Speech will open any alias, file, folder or application that's in its Speakable Items folder when its name is spoken. But that's not all - put AppleScripts and Automator workflows into the Speakable Items folder and you'll be able to get your Mac to do long, complex instructions - perhaps even more complex ones than you may think are possible.

Next up is Sharing. Bet you didn't know that any USB printer connected to a Mac in a network can be made available to every other Mac on that network. Or that a Web Sharing feature allows Macs' files to be accessed by any device, even smartphones. Or that network connections can be shared via AirPort. There's more of course; that's just the tip of the iceberg.

And then there's Spotlight - more specifically, Spotlight's Smart features, which automatically organize everything for a user without even needing to be asked. Spotlight automatically indexes files and inserts references to them in Smart Folders set up in the Finder. Everyone who uses a Mac makes use of Spotlight, but very few of those who do so ever go beyond the basics - and that's a real pity.

Ihnatko's top pick - for him the most 'underused and unappreciated' OS X feature - is the Help menu. It's something even experts are forced to do one time or another. As he says, "Hitting Command-? is like embarking on a pilgrimage. ItÂ?s humbling, but it undoubtedly strengthens the soul."

I've been a Mac user for years now - switched to OS X just a year ago - and I have to admit I'm guilty of the sin of not having learned more about what it can do for me. Any fellow Mac users out there who can say the same thing?

Mac OS Hints writer drewthaler noticed that Parallels Desktop, as good as it is, has a glaring flaw: In his words, "It uses Mac OS X's default caching strategies for huge files such as the operating system images (hard disk [or HDD] files) and SAV files (session saves). Over time, almost all of your RAM will fill up with data from these files, leaving little room for your other applications. If you've ever converted a hard drive image with Image Tool while doing something else at the same time, you'll know exactly what I mean."

He contacted the Parallels team to tell them what was up, but they never responded. So he came up with PD Tweaker, a little plugin that runs on Unsanity's Application Enhancer and instructs OS X to either stick to the default plan and always save HDD files and SAV files, or not save them at all to improve computers' overall performance. drewthaler says to try and see how much faster your Macs feel after PD Tweaker is installed.

Just a note - you'll need to install Application Enhancer 2.0 first before you install PD Tweaker, if you don't already have it in your Mac. They're both freeware, though, so no problem.

Download: [PD Tweaker]
Download: [Application Enhancer 2.0]

In an earlier article, we showed you how some of the features of the upcoming Windows Vista Beta 2 looked suspiciously like their Mac OS X equivalents. Now the good guys at AnandTech have put one Vista feature through its paces - Flip3D, which like Expos?ries to help users see every open window at once - and have found that not only is it 'heavily influenced' by Mac's Expos?it's inferior to the program it copies.

Unlike Expos?which presents all open windows evenly around the main window once activated, Flip3D works like a Rolodex. Through rotating the mouse wheel or repeatedly pressing the TAB key, the user can flip through the active windows. Problem is, though, because of the way the windows themselves are organized, not every part of each window can be seen at once (just have a look at the screenshot). Also, having to use the mouse wheel isn't very smooth and is less easy than using the mouse. Finally, the AnandTech testers say that this view of the windows creates aliasing, which makes Flip3D both "ugly to look at and ugly to use".

In conclusion, they have this to say:  "Microsoft simply would have been better off not implementing Flip3D than using this. We like Expos?and a version of it in Windows would be very nice, but Flip3D is a second-rate copy at best, and ultimately does not function nearly enough like Expos?o be useful."

Back to the drawing board, Microsoft?

Mouse gestures are, as the name suggests, motions of the mouse that result in actions within a program.  xGestures for OS X lets users select and set mouse motions to do specific tasks for any and all applications. Users say that with this program it's quite possible to almost completely eliminate the use of the keyboard for input (except for typing in stuff, of course) - just about anything can be done, from closing or minimizing windows or triggering Expose, for starters. Gestures can be defined for individual programs or for the computer as a whole. Shortcut keys, too, can easily be substituted for. Terrific!

It's shareware, so after downloading it you get 15 days to see if it's for you, and it's just $5 if you want to keep it after that. Really functional and inexpensive to boot - what's not to like?