MAC Freeware List

The Great Mac OS X Freeware List

We here at MacApper love freeware, and try to write about it whenever we can. If we can find a program that does as good a job as commercial offerings, we will do our best to bring it to your attention. Following along that vein of thought we prepared something we think you guys might find useful. It's a list of the best and most popular freeware for OS X.

The list is sorted alphabetically by category and currently has 57 freeware mac apps.

We hope to extend this list regularly and make it one of the best places to find out about great freeware for Mac. Having said that we definitely will have missed some of your favorites so please feel free to vote for Mac apps you feel should make the list in the comments.

Audio/Video

Audacity

Audacity is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. While it is more recommended for advanced users, novices should be able to perform basic editing and recording as well. Useful for podcasters.
iUseThis

Backups

Carbon Copy Cloner

Carbon Copy Cloner is a very useful and robust tool for making exact copy backups of any disk, even across the network. The newest version features an advanced scheduler tool and backup tasks can now be scheduled on an hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly fashion. If you don't like Time Machine give CCC a try.
Our Review | iUseThis

Mozy

Mozy is a free online backup service to keep your important files safe. On the free version, you get just 2GB of storage, so may only be any use as part of your backup solution; however for those important documents it's well worth a look, as you can retrieve your documents from any computer, a definite plus.
Our Review | iUseThis

CD/DVD Authoring

HandBrake

Handbrake is the One-Stop-Shop for ripping DVD's to your Mac, to use on your iPod, Apple TV, iPhone, or pretty much anything you can think of. A lovely bit of software that nearly everyone will probably need to use at one point or another.
Our Review | iUseThis

Burn

Burn allows you to… burn any kind of CD or DVD, data, music or video. You can even copy or burn ISO and DMG images.
iUseThis

Development

DiffMerge

This a very simple application to compare your files and folders, showing you differences and allowing you to merge them. Very handy for programmers or code monkeys.
iUseThis

Nvu

Nvu is a fully featured web authoring application (WYSIWYG) similiar to something like Dreamweaver that allows you to edit HTML/CSS with no technical expertise or knowledge of either. Well sort of. Nvu is not without its caveats but it is opensource and deserves a spot here.
iUseThis

Smultron

Smultron is a open sourced text/code editor written in Cocoa that is both easy to use and quite advanced for a freeware offering.
iUseThis

Education

SchoolHouse

GTD is the in-thing at the moment, however most GTD app's aren't that great for organising your school life. Schoolhouse, however is, and is perfectly suited to the job. Never miss an assignment again, and know exactly how you're getting on in each of your subjects.
Our Review | iUseThis

FTP/SFTP Clients

CyberDuck

Cyberduck is a great, simple and very quick FTP/SFTP browser. It lets you do everything you need to, and even lets you edit text documents remotely, without the need to download them. It also takes full advantage of Apple's Bonjour, and supports full drag and drop.
Our Review | iUseThis

Fugu

Fugu is an opensource SFTP client with a dual pane view distributed by the University of Michigan. Fugu has become fairly robust and supports most of the features you would expect of a solid SFTP app.
iUseThis

Games

* Be sure to also see our article on free games for Mac.

Quinn

Quinn is a nice simple Tetris game, but it has beautiful graphics, as well as some features you rarely see on freeware games, such as Bonjour play, allowing you to play across a network.
Our Review | iUseThis

Graphics

GimpShop

GimpShop is the absolutley free Photoshop clone, which gives you most of Photoshops features, but in an open source package. On the downside, it does run in the X11 environment, however it will do nearly everything Photoshop can do without the massive cost. Great if you only need to do the occasional bit of Photoshop work, and don't want to shell out the whole amount.
iUseThis

ImageWell

ImageWell is a small, yet quite powerful image editing application that lets you quickly resize, crop, watermark, and edit your images, for use on the web and elsewhere. While the base image editing software is free there is an Extras package which costs $19.95. The freeware version is useful enough we thought it deserved a spot here.
Our Review | iUseThis

Instant Shot

Instant shot is the perfect tool for your screenshot workflow - you can shoot a whole screen, part of a screen, rapid fire and even assign shortcutkeys to create snapshots on the fly.
iUseThis

Resize 'Em All

This is a brilliant app, and it does what you need it to and very quickly. Useful for resizing photos, especially when you have a whole batch. Although the new finder can perform the same function, this is much quicker, and easier to use, with CoreImage effects just making it all the better.
Our Review | iUseThis

Seashore

Seashore is an amazing image editor, based on the same framework of "GimpShop". It is, in basic terms, a GIMP based editor, with an OS X Cocoa wrapper. It works like every other OS X app, and is great if you don't have the time to learn the huge monster, that can be GimpShop.
Our Review | iUseThis

Internet/Web

Adium

Adium is the standard for the multi-network chat client on OS X. It does too many networks to count, and does them well. It is the app of choice for many MSN users, while some AIM users prefer it over iChat; and with Video chat slated to be available soon, it can only get better!
Our Review | iUseThis

aMSN

MSN is the underdog. It's not the best at doing MSN, and it does only do MSN, however it does video chat, unlike Adium! A nice app if you need to do video chats on what is one of the most popular networks throughout the UK and much of Europe.
iUseThis

Chicken Of The VNC

Chicken of the VNC is a great VNC to control a remote computer; and now that leopard has VNC built in, it means there is very little setup on the 'host' computer. VNC allows you to take control of a remote computer, using your mouse.
Our Review | iUseThis

Colloquy

For Many, IRC is a great way to be part of an online community. It's used throughout the iPhone hacking teams, as well as on websites like MacHeist; it's a nice way to talk over the net, or in our case here at MacApper, to organise the next big thing. Colloquy is a must for any IRC user.
Our Review | iUseThis

Flikr Uploadr

Flickr is the photo website, and so many people use it to share their images. But uploading through a website is never easy, so here you have it. Flickr Uploadr an extremely simple uploader that works with both Finder and iPhoto. Why do it any other way?
iUseThis

GarageBuy

You may have used GarageSale, which allows you to sell through eBay with ease. This free Garagebuy allows you to buy on eBay in much the same way, with more ease and in some cases better security than just using the regular site.
Our Review | iUseThis

Google Earth

This is an obvious one, everyone and their grandparents have heard of it, and who hasn't had a look at their house from the overhead photos? Even better, it now has a flight simulator built in, so you can fly past your neighbourhood, and have a go at landing a plane for yourself!
iUseThis

Joost

Joost is one of the most talked about products of the year, and is one of the first products to bring IP TV to the masses. It's still in Beta, but it's getting better all the time! It's very simple to use, and although the resolutions can often be fairly low, the image quality is high, and it'll work nicely on your nice 24″ iMac!
iUseThis

Skype

Skype seems to have been adopted as the main standard for free VOIP calls across the internet, and is growing in popularity as an IM client. Of course, it's free to download, and works great as a video chat client.
iUseThis

Thunderbird

If you don't get along with Apple'
s mail.app then this is the email client you want. Brought to us by the great people at Mozilla THunderbird allows for advanced email work with IMAP, POP, spam filters, and a plethora of options you would only expect from commercial software.
Our Review | iUseThis

Vienna


RSS is THE way to get news, and Vienna is a great, free RSS/Atom news reader. It is simple to use, has a built in WebKit browser, and is completely searchable. Vienna is nearly as good as commercial alternatives, or in some cases better.
Our Review | iUseThis

iPod

Senuti

Senuti is the most effortless possible way to get all of the content off an iPod or similar device without even needing to open iTunes. If you have an iPod you need Senuti.
Our Review | iUseThis

Network Tools

KisMac

KisMAC is an opensource and free stumbler/scanner application for Mac OS X using monitor mode and passive scanning.
KisMAC supports several third party PCMCIA cards - Orinoco, PrismII, Cisco Aironet, Atheros and PrismGT. USB Prism2 is supported as well, and USB Ralink support is in development. All of the internal AirPort hardware is supported as well.
iUseThis

Nmap

You will need to install the Apple Developer Tools and compile from source but where would you be without the best port scanner ever built. Nmap is a must security tool for any network admin.

Office & Productivity

Bean

Bean is a simple Word Processor. It is built on the same engine as TextEdit, but adds some extra features related with printing and a word count. It is a simple word processor and not as powerful as MS Word, but it does the job that it's meant for quite well.
Our Review | iUseThis

LyX

LyX is a different kind of word processor. Most word processors let you focus on content and style, giving you inconsistent documents most of the time. LyX allows you to create professional documents while focusing on structure first, and when you're done, you can export your document as a PDF or web page. This tool is excellent for professional reports, scientific papers and so on.
iUseThis

NeoOffice


Office Apps are expensive, Office '08 starts at $149.95, and although iWork is cheaper it is still $79.95. Enter NeoOffice, a fully featured Office suite, based on Open Office. This differs from Open Office as it is Mac native, and does not require X11 to be installed seperately. A great way to get started with office productivity for free.
Our Review | iUseThis

Skim

Looking for a better PDF reader than Preview? Skim is a PDF reader with a few powerful built-in editing tools such as adding an arrow/circle, or striking out unwanted text. With Skim, you can quickly sort through and edit your PDFs in a pinch.
Our Review | iUseThis

P2P File Sharing

Cabos

Cabos is Gnutella file sharing program based on LimeWire and Acquisition. Cabos provides simple sidebar user interface, firewall to firewall transfers, proxy transfers, Universal Plug and Play, iTunes + iPod integration, "What's New?" searches, international searches, and more.
iUseThis

Transmission

Transmission is a fast, easy, and free multi-platform BitTorrent client with a focus on being lightweight yet feature-filled. If you are doing any Bit-Torrent downloading and find other clients to be a bit clunky, this is the app you want. Simple, elegant, and completely functional.
iUseThis

Utilities

AppFresh

If your are reading this list, you need this app. It tells you when you need to update, you can use 'iUseThis' from within the app and if your not on Leopard it has a killer feature; You can take a snapshot of all your appss and back it up to wherever you want. Of note, this is a 'Preview', however it comes highly recommended.
Our Review | iUseThis

AppleJack

AppleJack is a very easy to use tool to troubleshoot your Mac when no other startup disk is available to you. The script gives you an interactive menu-driven environment for basic disk check/repair, permissions repair, .plist validation, cache cleanup, and swap file removal. Sadly AJ no longer works under Leopard 10.5.x but we are still hoping this changes!
iUseThis

Disk Inventory X

Got a fairly low amount of disk space left on your Mac? That's where Disk Inventory X comes in - it shows you a visual representation of what files are on your disk, a big block means a big file, and a small block, a small file. Really simple, and highly recommended when space is tight!
iUseThis

Linotype FontExplorer X

FontExplorer X is a robust and stable program for managing all your fonts, both system and user added, from the leader in font technology LinoType.
Our Review | iUseThis

Onyx

Onyx allows you to verify the Startup Disk and the structure of OS X's System files, to run misc tasks of system maintenance, to configure some hidden parameters of the Finder, Dock, Dashboard, Exposé, Safari, and more.
Our Review | iUseThis

Quicksilver

Love by many, yet so few use it to it's full potential! An amazing App launcher, and so much more, it's a must for every Mac, and lightning quick to open your apps. integration with other apps help's you search them, and even send quick e-mails without even opening Mail.
Our Review | iUseThis

Video

Flip4Mac WMV

Really a must for most users, Flip4Mac removes most of the need to use the ageing mac version of Windows Media Player, by allowing you to play most of your WMV files directly in QuickTime.
iUseThis

Jing

Jing is fairly new to the scene, but makes it much easier to get your screencasts out. We've both used it and blogged about it here at MacApper. A very useful tool for any blogger.
iUseThis

Miro

Miro (a.k.a Democracy) is another IPTV app, that does so much more. It will play your WMV, XVid and Quicktime files, it's a BitTorrent client, and it can even save YouTube videos. All for free. A really nice app that will do something for everyone!
Our Review | iUseThis

Perian

Perian enables any OS X application that uses QuickTime to be able to play many other media types like DivX, XviD, mpeg4, AC3 audio, etc. A must download for anyone watching video on their Mac.
Our Review | iUseThis

Real Player

Real Player is a nice all round media player, but it's unlikely to make you switch from iTunes/Quicktime or VLC; however you need this is you want to watch videos on some websites, such as bbc.co.uk.
Our Review | iUseThis

TubeTV


Who doesn't love YouTube? Not only is it fun, and a bit of a laugh, but it's a great way to find great videos; or even some real TV, courtesy of companies like the BBC. However, you need an internet connection to watch it. TubeTV searches YouTube, saves the videos, and converts then to play on other devices.
Our Review | iUseThis

VLC

VLC is another must for every Mac. If your usual media player refuses to play something, chances are VLC will play it. DVD's, MPEG 1, 2 and 4, OGG Vorbis, DivX and much more, VLC will play it. This really is a must so just get it now.
Our Review | iUseThis

Web Browsers

Camino

Camino is the cocoa-encased, Mac version of Firefox, using the 'Gecko' rendering engine . Although Firefox for the mac is available, Camino is more Mac-Like, and works more like other Mac-Apps
iUseThis

Firefox

This is the second most popular browser in the world, we couldn't omit it from a list like this. It's fast, and supports all the plugins that the windows version does. It's not the best browser on the Mac, however, for a switcher, it's perfect as it works exactly the same way the windows version does.
iUseThis

Flock

Social Networker? Flock is the browser for you, it integrates with many of the social networks including FaceBook and Twitter, as well as some media sites like YouTube.
Our Review | iUseThis

Shiira

Shiira is a browser, based on the same 'WebKit' as Safari.It has some nice transition effects, and more usefully a page dock which alows you to browse through tabs. Shiira is a serious contender to replace your current browser.
Our Review | iUseThis

Widgets

iStat

iStat is a great thing that comes in nearly any format you want, whether it be an app, dashboard widget, or menu-bar item, they all tell you everything you ever wanted to know about what your Mac is doing at any precise moment. They're fast, and very low on resource useage, so if you need to be in the know, these come highly recommended.
Our Review | iUseThis

So there you have it, our list of freeware for your Mac. We plan to expand this page as quickly as possible, however some great apps likely slipped through the net unnoticed. If you know of any great freeware apps that deserve to be on this list please leave a comment and let us know. Oh and one more thing:

"Free software is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of free as in free speech, not as in free beer. " - gnu.org

Edite CSS in Realtime

Handy Firefox Extension:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4187

12 Commandments for Serious Eaters

Michael Pollan's Twelve Commandments for Serious Eaters: Can You Live By Them?

Here they are, Michael Pollan's Twelve Commandments for Serious Eaters, from his new book, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. As Jamie Forrest noted yesterday, a few food pundits are taking him to task for a number of them. I'm down with most of what brother Pollan is preaching. What about you? These commandments are made to order for serious fat-chewing.

1. "Don't eat anything your grandmother wouldn't recognize as food."

2. "Avoid foods containing ingredients you can't pronounce."

3. "Don't eat anything that won't eventually rot."

4. "Avoid food products that carry health claims."

5. "Shop the peripheries of the supermarket; stay out of the middle."

6. "Better yet, buy food somewhere else: the farmers' market or CSA."

7. "Pay more, eat less."

8. "Eat a wide variety of species."

9. "Eat food from animals that eat grass." As long as these animals can occasionally be finished on corn. Sorry, Michael: Beef from cows that eat grass and then corn taste better.

10. "Cook, and if you can, grow some of your own food." Amen, brother Michael. I'll cook, but in New York it's hard to grow some of your own food. Would the AeroGarden in our office count?

11. "Eat meals and eat them only at tables." Hard to argue with this one.

12. "Eat deliberately, with other people whenever possible, and always with pleasure." This, brother Pollen, is probably the most important commandment for this particular Serious Eater.

The key to living by Pollan's commandments is to realize that it's not an all-or-nothing situation. We can't, shouldn't, and won't be able to be slaves to all 12 commandments. But they're a good starting point for both Serious Eater discussion and serious action.

7 Things To Regularly Check On Your Car To Save Money [Cars]

 

 

Sent to you by TO-Double-D via Google Reader:

 

 

7 Things To Regularly Check On Your Car To Save Money [Cars]

via Consumerist by Ben Popken on 1/4/08

They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and the adage applies very well to keeping your car running right. Here's 7 common sense things you need to be checking on your car on a regular basis to save yourself a lot of money in the long run. We found the tips in the summer 2007 issue of our USAA member magazine. They're all pretty obvious, which is why you'll be smacking yourself in the head if you don't do them, so read up and make sure you're on schedule.

1. ENGINE COOLANT AND ANTIFREEZE
How Often: Check twice yearly, once before summer and again before winter; change if coolant has brown tint or rust bits.
Pay Now: Free to check; up to $5 to top off with correct mix of water and coolant or antifreeze. If you don't use the right coolant for your car, you could damage your engine.
Or Pay Later: Without coolant, you can damage the water pump ($50 to $100) and possibly your engine.

2. OIL
How Often: Check monthly; change every 3,000 to 6,000 miles
Pay Now: Free to check; $20 to change yourself (oil, disposal fees); $20 to $40 at a shop.
Or Pay Later: Not changing the oil can void your warranty. Increased wear will shorten the engine's life span. Rebuilt engines cost $1,000 to $3,000, plus labor, depending on the car.

3. AIR FILTER
How Often: Check monthly; change when less than 50 percent of the filter lets light through when held up to a 100-watt bulb.
Pay Now: Free to check; $15 to $50 to change yourself; add another $20 or so for someone else to change it for you.
Or Pay Later: 10% increase in fuel consumption; if gas costs $3 per gallon and your car holds 20 gallons, you're wasting $6 with each fill-up--$156 a year, if you fill up every two weeks.

4. TRANSMISSION FLUID AND FILTER
How Often: Check monthly; change every three years or 36,000 miles.
Pay Now: Free to check; a few dollars to top it off; $30 to change it yourself; $40 to $80 to for someone else to do it.
Or Pay Later: Dirty or low fluid can cause problems with shifting and transmission failure. Transmissions cost $1,000 to $2,000, plus labor, to repair or rebuild.

5. BRAKE FLUID
How Often: Check each oil change; change every two years or as needed if your brakes feel soft.
Pay Now: Free to check; $3 to $20 a quart, depending on the fluid; $65 to $165 for a mechanic to change the brake fluid.
Or Pay Later: $60 or more to replace pads; $2,5000 or more, depending on your car's year, make, and model, for a complete brake job. Brake fluid absorbs moisture over time, reducing the brakes' effectiveness, which can lead to accidents.

6. TIRE TREAD
How Often: Check monthly; buy new tires when you see all of Lincoln's head on a penny stuck headfirst in a tread.
Pay Now: One penny to check; $40 to $200 per tire to replace, plus labor.
Or Pay Later: As much as $25,000 or more for a new car if you wreck due to a tire blowing.

7. TIRES FOR PROPER INFLATION
How Often: Ideally once a week, but at least monthly; inflate as needed.
Pay Now: Free to check; 25 to 50 cents to inflate.
Or Pay Later: $40 to $200 per tire, plus labor, to replace improperly worn tires.

(Photo: hehatemeMAN)

 

 

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MSN Video Guide

*NEW* MSN Video Guide

Nice layout - built in HuLu support - Check it out! Plenty of Full episodes from Primetime

Here is a example vid:

Radiohead NYE Concert 2007

The Pirate’s Dilemma

The Pirate's Dilemma

Written by Ernesto on January 08, 2008

Pirates are innovators, they signal market problems and lead the way to new business models. Nevertheless, they are tagged as thieves by many. We invited Matt Mason, author of the book "The Pirate's Dilemma: How Youth Culture Is Reinventing Capitalism", to write an article on the "pirate's dilemma" for TorrentFreak.

The Pirate's Dilemma: The Problem With Information (and how to fix it)

BY MATT MASON

The same way light confuses scientists by existing as particles and waves at the same time, information increasingly seems to confuse us. Information is getting cheaper and more expensive at the same time, and it appears that many of us, especially those of us who own or control a great deal of it, no longer understand how to observe or use it.

We live in a world where it is legal for a company to patent pigs, or any other living thing except for a full birth human being, but copying a CD you bought onto your hard drive is considered an infringement of someone else's rights. A place where an average law abiding citizen could owe more than $12 million dollars in fines if they were sued every time they accidentally violated copyright law in a single day. A society where it's ok for each of us to be hit with 5,000 advertising messages every 24 hours, usually without our permission, but creating a piece of art and placing it in public yourself without permission can land you in prison. This isn't just about the pros and cons of file sharing - this is about an entire species losing its sense of perspective, failing to understand the potential of one of its most precious (and yet most abundant) resources.

Many of us are confused about whether our ideas should count as information, or property. When we have a new idea, there are two opposing forces at work. At the same time as we are thinking "how can I get this out there?" we're also asking ourselves "how can I benefit from/monetize this idea?" We want to spread ideas as information, but capitalize on them as intellectual property. This problem with information is something I call The Pirate's Dilemma.

The first thing we need to understand is that the decision as to how we share "our" information isn't always "ours" to make alone. If a drug company decides it won't share malaria and anti-retroviral AIDS drugs with a developing nation for a price the suffering citizens of that country can afford, that country may decide to ignore patent protections and manufacture pirate copies of the drugs anyway in order to save lives. If an industry dependent on physical information, distribution bottlenecks and artificial scarcity decides to ignore more efficient ways of distributing the information it considers its property, pirates will step into the breach and highlight the fact that there is a better way for us to do things.

Some of America's greatest innovators were thought of as pirates. When Thomas Edison invented the phonographic record player, musicians branded him a pirate out to steal their work and destroy the live music business, until a system was established so everyone could be paid royalties, which we today call the record industry. Edison, in turn, went on to invent filmmaking, and demanded a licensing fee from those making movies with his technology. This caused a band of filmmaking pirates, including a man named William, to flee New York for the then still wild West, where they thrived, unlicensed, until Edison's patents expired. These pirates continue to operate there, albeit legally now, in the town they founded: Hollywood. William's last name? Fox.

Piracy is the sharp end of innovation, innovation by any means necessary. Large oligopolies control most of our industries and governments. Six companies control most of what we see and hear. According to The World Bank's 2007 figures, roughly two-thirds the world's 150 largest economies aren't nations, but corporations. We all know the system doesn't work quite the way it's supposed to, yet continue to think of this inefficient system we have as "the free market". Pirates upend inefficient systems – they take order and create short-term chaos, but often the long-term result of piracy on a large scale is a better system - a more efficient way of doing things. Pirates created many of our established orders out of chaos, and now that these industries are becoming inefficient in the face of new technologies, chaos is being created once again.

From CEOs to struggling artists, in everything from health care to entertainment to education, many of us are being challenged by the problem of others sharing and using our intellectual property without permission. This challenge requires a change of attitude, because sometimes piracy isn't the problem, it's the solution. You see, piracy is really a market signal - an early warning system, a warning that all too often goes ignored by established industries. Whether we consider ourselves pirates or professionals, we're all competing in the same space.

When pirates enter our market spaces, we have two choices: We can throw lawsuits at them and hope they go away. Sometimes this is the best thing to do. But what if those pirates are adding value to society in some way? If these pirates are really doing something useful, people support them, and the strong arm of the law won't work. The pirates will keep coming back and multiplying no matter how many people are sued. And the truth is, if lawsuits become a core component of your business model, then you no longer have a business model (unless you're a lawyer).

Because in these cases, what pirates are actually doing is highlighting a better way for us to do things; they find gaps outside the market – and better ways for society to operate. In these situations the only way to fight piracy is legitimize and legalize new innovations by competing with pirates in the marketplace. Once the new market space is legitimized, more opportunities are created for everyone. This is how cable TV started, it's why many drugs are now sold at prices people in the third world can afford, it's how many other new opportunities are being created today. Pirates present us with a choice. We can either fight them in the courts, or match them play for play in the marketplace. To compete or not to compete, that is the question; that is The Pirate's Dilemma.

---

Matt's book: "The Pirate's Dilemma: How Youth Culture Is Reinventing Capitalism " is out now through Free Press, and probably soon on a BitTorrent tracker near you ;).

So Much Fun - Try to make a See-Saw

http://www.enigmasand.com/games/nphys/

Evolution VS USA

Evolution Less Accepted in U.S. Than Other Western Countries, Study Finds Kinda Scary, Isn't it?

Source

Come see the Kittens

When the kids yelled, "Hey Mom! Come see the kittens."

Darwin Awards 2008

Largest Known Star

Wait for it!!!

"Can't We Talk?" (Condensed from: You Just Don't Understand)

"Can't We Talk?" (condensed from: You Just Don't Understand)

by Deborah Tannen

A married couple was in a car when the wife turned to her husband and asked, "Would you like to stop for a coffee?"

"No, thanks," he answered truthfully. So they didn't stop.

The result? The wife, who had indeed wanted to stop, became annoyed because she felt her preference had not been considered. The husband, seeing his wife was angry, became frustrated. Why didn't she just say what she wanted?

Unfortunately, he failed to see that his wife was asking the question not to get an instant decision, but to begin a negotiation. And the woman didn't realize that when her husband said no, he was just expressing his preference, not making a ruling. When a man and woman interpret the same interchange in such conflicting ways, it's no wonder they can find themselves leveling angry charges of selfishness and obstinacy at each other.

As a specialist in linguistics, I have studied how the conversational styles of men and women differ. We cannot lump all men or all women into fixed categories. But the seemingly senseless misunderstandings that haunt our relationships can in part be explained by the different conversational rules by which men and women play.

Whenever I write or speak about this subject, people tell me they are relieved to learn that what has caused them trouble - and what they had previously ascribed to personal failings - is, in fact, very common.

Learning about the different though equally valid conversational frequencies men and women are tuned to can help banish the blame and help us truly talk to one another. Here are some of the most common areas of conflict:

Status vs. Support.

Men grow up in a world in which a conversation is often a contest, either to achieve the upper hand or to prevent other people from pushing them around. For women, however, talking is often a way to exchange confirmation and support.

I saw this when my husband and I had jobs in different cities. People frequently made comments like, "That must be rough," and "How do you stand it?" I accepted their sympathy and sometimes even reinforced it, saying, "The worst part is having to pack and unpack al the time."

But my husband often reacted with irritation. Our situation had advantages, he would explain. As academics, we had four-day weekends together, as well as long vacations throughout the year and four months in the summer.

Everything he said was true, but I didn't understand why he chose to say it. He told me that some of the comments implied: "Yours is not a real marriage. I am superior to you because my wife and I have avoided your misfortune." Until then it had not occurred to me there might be an element of one- upmanship.

I now see that my husband was simply approaching the world as many men do: as a place where people try to achieve and maintain status. I, on the other hand, was approaching the world as many women do: as a network of connections seeking support and consensus.

Independence vs. Intimacy.

Since women often think in terms of closeness and support, they struggle to preserve intimacy. Men, concerned with status, tend to focus more on independence. These traits can lead women and men to starkly different views of the same situation.

When Josh's old high-school friend called him at work to say he'd be in town, Josh invited him to stay for the weekend. That evening he told Linda they were having a house guest.

Linda was upset. How could Josh make these plans without discussing them with her beforehand? She would never do that to him. "Why don't you tell your friend you have to check with your wife?" she asked.

Josh replied, "I can't tell my friend, 'I have to ask my wife for permission'!"

To Josh, checking with his wife would mean he was not free to act on his own. It would make him feel like a child or an underling. But Linda actually enjoys telling someone, "I have to check with Josh." It makes her feel good to show that her life is intertwined with her husband's.

Advice vs. Understanding.

Eve had a benign lump removed from her breast. When she confided to her husband, Mark, that she was distressed because the stitches changed the contour of her breast, he answered, "You can always have plastic surgery."

This comment bothered her. "I'm sorry you don't like the way it looks," she protested. "But I'm not having any more surgery!"

Mark was hurt and puzzled. "I don't care about a scar," he replied. "It doesn't bother me at all."

"Then why are you telling me to have plastic surgery?" she asked.

"Because you were upset about the way it looks."

Eve felt like a heel. Mark had been wonderfully supportive throughout her surgery. How could she snap at him now?

The problem stemmed from a difference in approach. To many men a complaint is a challenge to come up with a solution. Mark thought he was reassuring Eve by telling her there was something she could do about her scar. But often women are looking for emotional support, not solutions.

When my mother tells my father she doesn't feel well, he invariably offers to take her to the doctor. Invariably, she is disappointed with his reaction. Like many men, he is focused on what he can do, whereas she wants sympathy.

Information vs. Feelings.

A cartoon shows a husband opening a newspaper and asking his wife, "Is there anything you'd like to say to me before I start reading the paper?" We know there isn't - but that as soon as the man begins reading, his wife will think of something.

The cartoon is funny because people recognize their own experience in it. What's not funny is that many women are hurt when men don't talk to them at home, and many men are frustrated when they disappoint their partners without knowing why.

Rebecca, who is happily married, told me this is a source of dissatisfaction with her husband, Stuart. When she tells him what she is thinking, he listens silently. When she asks him what is on his mind, he says, "Nothing."

All Rebecca's life she has had practice in verbalizing her feelings with friends and relatives. But Stuart has had practice in keeping his innermost thoughts to himself. To him, like most men, talk is information. He doesn't feel that talk is required at home.

Yet many such men hold center stage in a social setting, telling jokes and stories. They use conversation to claim attention and to entertain. Women can wind up hurt that their husbands tell relative strangers things they have not told them.

To avoid this kind of misunderstanding, both men and women can make adjustments. A woman may observe a man's desire to read the paper without seeing it is a rejection. And a man can understand a woman's desire to talk without feeling it is a manipulative intrusion.

Orders vs. Proposals.

Diana often begins statements with "Let's." She might say "Let's park over there" or "Let's clean up now, before lunch."

This makes Nathan angry. He has deciphered Diana's "Let's" as a command. Like most men, he resists being told what to do. But to Diana, she is making suggestions, not demands. Like most women, she formulates her requests as proposals rather than orders. Her style of talking is a way of getting others to do what she wants - but by winning agreement first.

With certain men, like Nathan, this tactic backfires. If they perceive someone is trying to get them to do something indirectly, they feel manipulated and respond more resentfully than they would to a straightforward request.

Conflict vs. Compromise.

In trying to prevent fights, some women refuse to oppose the will of others openly. But sometimes it's far more effective for a woman to assert herself, even at the risk of conflict.

Dora was frustrated by a series of used cars she drove. It was she who commuted to work, but her husband, Hank, who chose the cars. Hank always went for cars that were "interesting" but in continual need of repair.

After Dora was nearly killed when her brakes failed, they were in the market for yet another used car. Dora wanted to buy a late-model sedan from a friend. Hank fixed his sights on a 15-year-old sports car. She tried to persuade Hank that it made more sense to buy the boring but dependable car, but he would not be swayed.

Previously she would have acceded to his wishes. This time Dora bought the boring but dependable car and steeled herself for Hanks' anger. To her amazement, he spoke not a word of remonstrance. When she later told him what she had expected, he scoffed at her fears and said she should have done what she wanted from the start if she felt that strongly about it.

As Dora discovered, a little conflict won't kill you. At the same time, men who habitually oppose others can adjust their style to opt for less confrontation.

When we don't see style differences for what they are, we sometimes draw unfair conclusions: "You're illogical," "You're self- centered," "You don't care about me." But once we grasp the two characteristic approaches, we stand a better chance of preventing disagreements from spiraling out of control.

Learning the other's ways of talking is a leap across the communication gap between men and women, and a giant step towards genuine understanding.

8 Straight Benefits of Red Wine

 

 

8 Straight Benefits of Red Wine

via Dumb Little Man - Tips for Life by Jay White on 1/4/08

Wine is one of the oldest alcoholic beverages on the planet. Its history spans thousands of years and while heavy drinking of any alcoholic beverage rather brings lots of health-related troubles instead of benefits, current research suggests that a glass of red wine each day may be providing you with more than just a little relaxation.

• Reduced risk of death from nearly all causes: European researchers suggest that moderate daily intake of red wine (22-32 g of alcohol) has a protective effect on all-cause mortality. According to studies from France, UK, Finland and Denmark, moderate consumption of wine is more beneficial than that of beer or spirits.


• Smoking: Acute smoking significantly impairs vessels' natural ability to relax, or vasodilate. Red wine, with or without alcohol, decreases the harmful effect of smoking on the endothelium - layer of cells that provide a friction-reducing lining in lymph vessels, blood vessels, and the heart.


• Heart disease: One of the well-known and most studied benefits of red wine is its heart protective effect. Moderate consumption of red wine on a regular basis may be a preventative against coronary heart disease. Scientists believe the red wine reduces the risk of coronary heart disease by reducing production of low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and boosting high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.


• Blood clots: Red wine produces anticlotting, or antithrombotic, action. Light to moderate consumers of wine have lower levels of protein fibrinogen which promotes blood clot formation.


• Atherosclerosis: Red wine may prevent the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis (hardening or "furring" of the arteries). Atherosclerosis starts when blood vessels begin to lose their ability to relax. Both the alcohol and polyphenols in the red wine appear to favorably maintain healthy blood vessels by promoting the formation of nitric oxide (NO), the key chemical relaxing factor that plays an important role in the regulation of vascular tone.


• Hypertension: Excessive alcohol consumption is generally considered a risk factor for hypertension. However, there is some evidence of favorable effects of red wine on blood pressure. Two glasses of red wine (250 ml), taken together with the meal, lower post-meal blood pressure in hypertensive persons.


• Kidney stones: Red wine intake reduces the risk of kidney stone formation.


• Alzheimer's disease: Moderate wine drinking correlates with a lower risk for Alzheimer's disease. Researchers found that resveratrol, a red wine polyphenol, produces neuroprotective effects.

So while my conclusion does not include a blanket statement telling everyone to drink wine everyday, it may be worth a try if your situation today leaves you at risk for any of the point above.

Written by C. Simmons of HealthAssist.net

 

 

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Living in Three Centuries

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Motley Fool: litigation isn't a business model, sell RIAA short

 

 

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Motley Fool: litigation isn't a business model, sell RIAA short

via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow on 1/2/08

Alyce Lomax, an investment analyst for the financial site The Motley Fool, has written a smart little editorial arguing that lawsuits are not a sound business-strategy, and if that's the best the RIAA can come up with, it's time to short the stock of the record labels.

As I've said before, a good sign of a dying industry that investors might want to avoid is when it would rather litigate than innovate, signaling a potential destroyer of value. If it starts to pursue paying customers -- which doesn't seem that outlandish at this point -- then I guess we'll all know the extent of the desperation. Investor, beware.

Link (Thanks, Gary!)

 

 

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RIAA CD Liner Notes

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