DragonDrop helps Mac users move their files around in finder with a creative tool that sits in your Menu Bar and activates when you need it. It acts like a temporary shelf to store your files so you can find the new folder to drop them. Let me show you how it works.

Open a Finder folder and select the file or files your want to move. Now either drag them to the icon in the Menu bar or shake your mouse until the DragonDrop box opens. It has a flared pattern that rotates.

Watch DragonDrop in action in the video below.

Drop the files on the box and then find the new spot where you plan to place the file or files. Drag the file or files from the DragonDrop box to the new folder and the box disappears. DragonDrop copies the files to the new place.

It works with any kind of file you can store on your hard drive and it works with websites. Just drag the website’s address bar icon to the DragonDrop box just as you would a file. Then, open a new browser and drag the site to that browser window’s address bar. You might need to test a site in more than one browser. This offers an easier way to do that than typing a long site’s URL each time.

I love this utility. It costs $4.99 in the Mac App Store, which seems a bit steep. It feels more like a $2 app. I wish the feature would show up in a future release of OS X.

If you want a free taste, go to the app’s website and get the free trial version. If you like it buy it in the App store.

I had one difficulty, which you can see in the above video. If you drag the files, shake the mouse cursor and them move the cursor too far after the DragonDrop box appears, then it goes away. If you’re dragging a bunch of files, the files icons can mask the box making it hard to see that the box appeared. Aside from the cost, that’s my only complaint. I recommend it to OS X users who do a lot of dragging and dropping of files. I installed it on all of my systems.

You can set DragonDrop to start at login, which you’ll want to do. You can turn off the shake feature and only use the Menu Bar if you want. Or you can turn off the Menu Bar icon and only use the shake feature.

DragonDrop Review: Simplify Moving Files in OS X is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Pandora is a great way to listen to music, but its a pain to find the right tab when you need to pause a station or skip a song.

If you have a Mac and listen to Pandora, you need to go buy Muse right now.

This $6 Pandora app allows you to set keyboard shortcuts to skip songs, pause songs and even like or dislike a song without looking for the Pandora website.

Muse Pandora for Mac app offers keyboard shortcuts, remote support and Airplay.

The great keyboard shortcut support is complemented by growl notifications to show the currently playing song and the mini player that lives in the menubar. The mini player offers full control over the app no matter where you’re at.

When looking at the Muse app, you get the full Pandora experience. The app simply loads an HTML5 version of Pandora on the Mac, so there is no loss in experience. Because of this I don’t expect that Pandora API changes will force it to go dark like they did with PandaBar.

I would gladly pay $6 just for Pandora keyboard shortcuts on a Mac, but Muse goes even further adding AirPlay support to stream to an Apple TV or AirPlay speakers right from the app with no third part plugins or configuration necessary.

The app also supports the Apple Remote so you can control your music at a distance.

AirPlay support is perfect for streaming music to my Apple TV while working in the living room. Instead of the quiet MacBook Air speakers I can stream Pandora to Apple TV and my home theater they way it should be.

Muse is $5.99 in the Mac App Store. It is also available as a free 10-day trial or a $10 purchase at the developer’s website.

Listen to Pandora on a Mac? You Need Muse is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

There’s another nasty Mac virus called Trojan-Download:OSX/Flashback.I or Flashback Trojan for short. This one will steal all locally stored login data on infected Macs.

A trojan malware infection disguises itself as an application, that looks like a valid program, but is a malicious tool in disguise.

Flashback searches for user names and passwords to websites stored on Macs, hoping to steal the user’s identity. Mac users who store passwords in their browser’s auto-complete feature, need to check for this infection.

If you have an infected Mac, be sure to change all of your important passwords and keep a close eye on your financial accounts.

A good Mac Antivirus tool can remove the malware, but not everyone has one installed. Many in the Mac community believe they’re immune to such infections. Malware takes advantage of this attitude and sneaks its way onto systems.

The Flashback Trojan gets its name by claiming it’s an Adobe Flash update. Users think it’s genuine and give it permission to install itself.

If you don’t have an antivirus app installed, here’s how to remove the Flashback Trojan malware.

Understand that this process involves entering commands into the Terminal app, which might scare some users. If you’re not sure what you’re doing, get a knowledgable tech savvy person to help you. Otherwise, follow the steps found at F-Secure very carefully.

F-Secure describes the malware as follows:

Trojan-Downloader:OSX/Flashback.I connects to a remote site to download its payload; on successful infection, the malware modifies targeted webpages displayed in the web browser.

One you’ve cleaned up your Mac, then check out our roundup of Antivirus tools for Mac and be sure to install one for future protection.

How to Remove the Flashback Trojan From Infected Macs is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

If you have ever tried to empty the trash in OS X and received a messages saying that it has a locked files and folders, then you know the feeling that no matter what you do, you can’t take out the trash. The files stay behind cluttering up your drive and occupying needed space.

This happened to me when I plugged an external drive into my MacBook Pro and it contained a bunch of old Time Machine Backups. I sent them to the Trash but then I couldn’t empty them from the trash for some reason.

I discovered a solution to this problem and wanted to share it.

Dealing with Locked Files

This actually applies to any file that you can’t move, unlock, modify or copy in Mac OS X. File sin the trash may become locked keeping you from permanently deleting them.

If you’re trying to expunge a file, right-click or Control+click on the file and select Get Info.

The info window will pop-up and you will likely see a check mark next to the word Locked midway down the window.

Uncheck it and close the window.

Now you can do whatever you like with the file.

Dealing with Stubborn Folders

What if you’re trying to remove a persistent folder and get the error message that says you can’t empty the file because of a locked folder? One of the options offers to get rid of all the unlocked content. Select it and then open the Trash to see what’s left. You will likely see the locked folder or folders.

To get rid of the folder or folders, open a Terminal window. I find the easiest way is to press Command+Space to open Spotlight Search box. Type Terminal and hit Enter.

With terminal open, type the following without hitting the Enter key. Remember to NOT hit the Enter key after typing the following line into Terminal:

sudo chflags -R nouchg

Make sure the above line has a space after the last ‘g’ and then open your Trash folder. Drag the offending folder into the Terminal at the end of the line after the space after the ‘g’ and Terminal will automatically enter the text needed to identify folder’s location.

Hit enter and OS X will do its magic on the folder.

Now you can remove the folder by emptying the Trash. Either choose Finder from the menu and then click Empty Trash … . You can also use the keyboard shortcut Shift+Command+Delete which also empties your Trash folder.

If you still can’t remove the folder you have something else wrong. The Apple support page where I found the above solution has a few other possible answers you can try.

How to Empty the Trash in OS X If It Contains Locked Files and Folders is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

The Apple TV is an amazing gadget, but for some reason Apple doesn’t allow users to wirelessly stream video from a Mac to the device.

If you are willing to put up with a few bugs and have $10 to spare, you should checkout a third-party app called AirParrot that lets you mirror your MacBook Air’s display over your Apple TV without any wires or hacking.

Yes, you can wirelessly stream from Mac to Apple TV, for just $10.

It’s great to see that someone is making wire,was streaming to the Apple TV from your Mac a reality, especially since practically every Windows notebook sold this year can wirelessly stream to a $99 Wireless Display adapter.

Currently the app will only mirror your display, like the iPad or iPhone does for the Apple TV, so you can’t use your HDTV as a second monitor. You are also limited to the same resolution as your main display, so you may not have the best resolution for your HDTV.

Another major issue with this early version of AirParrot is the lack of audio. If you plan to use AirParrot for presentations or just to gain a larger display, no worries. If you need audio, you’ll want to look for some good Bluetooth speakers. Hopefully we’ll see wireless streaming with audio in a future update, or the ability to use alongside AirFoil.

Here’s a video demo showing AirParrot steaming a Mac to the Apple TV without any wires from TUAW, which has a short review of AirParrot.

I’m looking forward to trying out AirParrot, but I think it will need to bring more to the table to catch the eye of the public.

Purchase AirParrot for $9.99 for Macs with Nvidia or Intel Graphics running OSX Lion or Snow Leopard.

Wirelessly Stream From Mac to Apple TV With AirParrot is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Apple sent out Mac OSX Updates last week for OS X 10.7.3 Lion fixing mostly stability issues, but instead caused some problems for updaters. The delta update exited beta testing and hit the average user fixing security problems and some bugs. A delta update replaces only those files that need updating, resulting in a smaller download for users.

Apple took down that update after users said their systems became unstable and applications began crashing. As a result Apple now would rather have users update with a large 1.3GB file which they will have to manually download and apply instead of using Software Update from the Apple menu with OS X.

A second snafu came about when a security update caused problems with Rosetta, the virtual interface that runs older PowerPC applications on top of OS X made for Intel based Macs. Users can run older software that doesn’t run natively on the Intel compatible version of the Apple operating system. A second version of the security fix came out that shouldn’t break Rosetta.

Apple normally doesn’t send out updates that cause this much trouble, causing the folks at The Inquirer to speculate that Apple moved some quality control people over to the iOS. Apple released financial earnings showing that iOS provides a larger percentage of their earnings, so it would be natural that they would move people to that side of their business, the post says.

That’s highly speculative and we have no evidence this is true. One failure doesn’t make a pattern. It does mean that Apple needs watch their updates carefully if they don’t want to tarnish their previously good reputation for stability.

To get the new full 1.3GB update from Apple, download it or check out the support page with the “client combo” file.

Via The Inquirer

Apple Takes Down OSX Updates Due to Stability Issues is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

If you have an Apple TV, you’ve no doubt used it to stream audio, like Pandora, to your home theater, but there is no Apple provided way to stream music from your MacBook or Notebook to your Apple TV or AirPlay speakers.

Enter AirFoil, an AirPlay solution that lets you stream any audio from your computer to your AirPlay speakers or Apple TV.

AirPlay for the Mac and for Windows computers is the missing part of Apple TV experience, and that’s what AirFoil solves in a simple to use program. I wish it could also handle video, like Intel Wireless Display, but for now I’m just happy to be able to send my Pandora tunes to my home theater when I work in the living room.

AirFoil has a free trial that allows you tor stream your Mac or PC to the Apple TV for 10 minutes, after which they overlay a hiss on your audio. The full program is an affordable $25, and is delivered instantly.

Using AirFoil is incredibly easy. As long as you are on the same network as your Apple TV, which is almost a given if you are at home, you will see it and any AirPlay speakers listed in the app.

To use the Apple TV as your wireless speaker system, click on the music note to right of your item. You can stream to multiple sources at once, which makes it easy to pump music throughout your house. You can install the free AirFoil Speakers app on your Mac to turn in into an AirPlay receiver.

When you want to change your audio source, you just click the dropdown menu at the top. You can pick from any program on your computer, including your web browser. The only thing I don’t like is that AirFoil will need to restart the program to capture the audio, so you may have to save your work if you want to start using Chrome or Safari in the middle of the day. Thankfully you are warned about this so there are no surprises.

Overall this is a great solution for streaming music from your computer to the Apple TV. Hopefully we’ll have a way of streaming video in the near future.

Purchase AirPlay from Rogue Amoeba

AirFoil Streams Audio From Your Mac or PC to Apple TV is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

If you create content for a living, you know the value of fast storage, and just how fast you can fill up a GB of storage space.

The new Hitachi powered G-RAID and G-DRIVE external hard drives with Thunderbolt connectivity are aimed at answering this need with a combination of offerings up to 4TB of external storage with a Thunderbolt connection.

G-Technology drives from Toshiba are powered by the 1TB Travelstar 5K1000 and the 4TB Deskstar 7K4000 drives which are packaged into a portable enclosure with a Thunderbolt port and designed to work with Mac products like the MacBook Pro and Mac Pro and MacBook Air.

The drives are ready to go with Macs out of the box, including Time Machine support, and can be used on Windows machines with a short setup process.

The G-RAID is now available with Thunderbolt connectivity.

The new G-RAID and G-DRIVE external hard drive enclosures are similar to the previous models, but thanks to the Thunderbolt connection, Mac users can enjoy much faster file transfers. If you have other ports, don’t worry, you’ll find a full complement of ports including  3Gbit eSATA, FireWire 800 (FireWire 400 via included cable) and USB2.0 ports.

Hitachi shares the following descriptions of the new drives for professional creatives.

G-RAID – The G-Technology G-RAID is a blazing fast, dual drive RAID 0 storage solution with capacities up to 8TB. Ideal for professional content creators, it supports simultaneous playback of multiple layers of HDV, DVCPRO HD, XDCAM HD and ProRes 422 HQ with the leading video editing applications including Final Cut Pro™, Adobe® Premiere® and many more. The G-RAID solution is capable of delivering up to 200 MB/second transfer rate when connected to any Mac or PC via eSATA. Its soft-touch On/Off switch and thermo-regulated “smart” fan keeps the G-RAID reliable, cool and quiet in the editing suite.

G-DRIVE – The G-Technology G-DRIVE is a professional strength external hard drive in a single-drive desktop solution. With capacities now up to 4TB, G-DRIVE is the perfect high-performance solution for storage intensive applications including A/V editing, digital photography, music libraries, and high-speed data backup. The drive features a fan-less cooling system for a quiet operation. The 4TB G-Technology G-DRIVE will be shipping in limited quantities in Q1’12.

Look for the new drives to ship in the first quarter of 2012. The 8TB G-RAID will retail at $899, while the G-DRIVE will retail for $449.99 for 4TB, $349.99 for 3TB, $249.99 for 2TB and $199.99 for 1TB.

Hitachi G-RAID with Thunderbolt Adds 4TB of Snappy Storage to Macs is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Apple pushed out some minor updates this week for the Safari Browser, Keynote (the company’s presentation application) and the iCloud Control Panel for Windows. The updates don’t add any new functionality to the supplications, but they do fix a few minor bugs.

The update to Safari includes the following:

• Addresses issues that cause hangs and excessive memory usage
• Addresses issues that could cause webpages to flash white
• Allows PDFs to be displayed within web content

The update brings the version number of Safari to 5.1.2 and contains 40.2MB of data.

The update to Keynote fixes a problem caused by using rather large Keynote presentations while working in OS X Lion and brings Keynote’s version number to 5.1.1 with the 35.2 MB update.

You can get these updates through the Software Update item on the Apple menu in OS X. The Keynote update will show up on the Mac App Store if that’s where you bought your copy of Keynote. You can also get the update via Apple’s website (Keynote update, Safari Update).

The Windows iCloud Control Panel also got an update. The update brings compatibility with the above Safari update if you are running Windows. It requires Vista or higher and brings the version number to 1.0.1 in a 40.03MB update.

Apple Pushes Minor Updates to Safari, Keynote & Windows iCloud is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Did you know Mac OS X Lion has a folder that will sync files much like DropBox or SugarSync? Let me show you how to make use of it.

If you’ve used DropBox or SugarSync, then you know of the beauty of putting a file in a folder on one computer and having it show up on another computer without having to do anything other than signing up for an account and installing the software. Now you can get the same functionality in Lion without installing their app or using up the limited amount of storage you have available via those services.

The magic folder resides in your hidden Library folder. You can go one of two routs – un-hide the Library folder to open up some interesting usefulness or just navigate to the folder using the Go menu in Finder. But first, let’s make sure you have iCloud files sync turned on.

Go to System Preferences and click on iCloud. Make sure there’s a check box next to Documents and Data.

Now you have a choice to make. Do you want to un-hide the Library folder? We have a How To on that you can follow. If you don’t want to bother, then open Finder and click the Go menu. Type in the following:

~/Library/

This will open the hidden folder. Find the Mobile Documents folder. If for some reason you don’t see one, you can create the special folder, but not by the traditional means of just making a new folder in Finder. You have to open an iWork app like Pages and create an iWork document. To do that just open Pages, Numbers or Keynote. Create a new document and click the Share menu and choose Share via iWork.com.

After sharing the document, the folder will be created with Apple’s magic sauce for syncing between all of your Macs.

Now, just make an Alias to that folder somewhere. I dragged the folder to the FAVORITES list along the left side of the Finder Window.

Now any file you save to that folder will automatically sync to your other Macs, if they have iCloud Documents & Data turned on in Settings. You may want to repeat these steps on other Macs to ensure they all have the folder setup and an easily accessible shortcut to it configured.

Using this solution in place of DropBox or SugarSync means you don’t get cloud based backup or web browser access to the files from another location. For quick and dirty sync of a file this works better than the woefully horrible AirDrop feature. I can see using this to quickly move a file to another computer that you don’t really need ongoing access to after your done with it.

Thanks to Apple Insider for the idea.

How To Use the Built-in DropBox-Style Sync in Mac OS X Lion is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.