Mac OS

If you've just come to the Mac from a PC you may have wondered where Microsoft got the name "Windows" for its operating system. Without delving into the politics of the thing (because some people are still sore about it), let's just say that Microsoft was inspired by one of the Mac OS's most prominent features: virtual windows that gave users a visual metaphor for the way their files were organized on their computers. Microsoft, much to Apple's chagrin, thought this a wonderfully descriptive name for its graphical user interface (known by its initials, GUI) and so Microsoft Windows was christened.

About nine months ago, I acquired a 13-inch MacBook Air. At that point, the first Ultrabooks had been announced but were not yet shipping. Even so, I might have waited, except that the Ultrabooks I'd previewed to that point seemed uninspired--with clunkier hardware than the Air offered and various odd compromises. Some missed the boat on the trackpad; others had lower-quality displays. So I bought a 13-inch MacBook Air configured with a 256GB solid-state drive.

On Thursday VMware released Fusion 4.1, an update to its $50 virtualization software ( Macworld rated 4 out of 5 mice ) that adds numerous small improvements--and a huge, unheralded change that could provide Mac users with much more flexibility when it comes to running old versions of Mac OS X.

Parallels has announced a new version of Parallels Desktop for Mac, which lets you run Windows and Mac apps side-by-side on a Mac without having to reboot.

Lion may be the new leader of the Mac OS X pride, but Apple hasn't forgotten about Snow Leopard users: On Monday, the company released Mac OS X 10.6.8 Supplemental Update and Mac OS X 10.6.8 Server Supplemental Update which offers fixes and patches for minor Snow Leopard and Snow Leopard Server issues.

Apple says it has a fix in the works for the Mac Defender fake antivirus app that has plagued a surprising number of Mac users in recent weeks. The company recently posted a Mac Defender support page explaining how you can remove the malware from your system. Apple also says it will roll out an OS X software update to protect Mac users from future attacks.

For a long time, one of the strongest points for using Apple computers in your business as opposed to a Windows-based PC has been the suggestion that the Mac platform is somehow inherently more secure

If you like to review documents on your way to and from work, you likely know that you can use Apple's free iBooks app to read PDF files on an iOS device running iOS 3.2 or later. What you may not know is that with an easy-to-assemble Automator workflow, you can move a PDF directly from Apple's Preview to an attached iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. This workflow demonstrates the power of the Print plug-in.

Steam is the extremely popular digital content delivery system developed by Valve Corporation. Self-described as the "Nexus of PC Gaming," it has over 25 million users and is home to over 1000 games from both independent developers and big name publishers alike. Currently, Steam is only available for Windows, leaving Mac gamers to seek more conventional means to buy their games, or at least giving a great reason to install Boot Camp.

If you use Screen Sharing a lot in OS X 10.6, there are a couple ways to make it easier to connect to your Macs. First, there's ScreenSharingMenulet, which places an icon in your menu bar, showing machines you've previously connected to via Screen Sharing. If you'd rather keep your menu bar uncluttered, though, here's a built-in solution.