Most Popular Mac Downloads And Posts Of 2011


2011 brought a new version of Mac OS X and plenty of great Mac-oriented content. Here’s a look at our most popular Mac downloads and posts this year.


How To Control Multiple Computers With A Single Keyboard And Mouse

If you have two or more computers at one desk, you don’t want two or more sets of keyboards and mice cluttering up your workspace, too. You can buy a hardware gadget that lets you share a single keyboard and mouse with several computers (which involves a mess of tangled wires), or you could use a… More »


How To Break Into A Mac (And Prevent It From Happening To You)

Even if you aren’t the most evil of folk, there could be times when you need to get into a computer without the password. It’s quite easy on a Mac, and learning how to do it can help you keep yourself better protected, too. More »


How To Automatically Download TV Shows As Soon As They’ve Aired (Or Turn Your PC Into A TiVo)

Video content is readily available online for you to download, but the download process isn’t always as simple and automated clicking a button on a TiVO or DVR. Fortunately, with a little set up and some help from a few great tools and BitTorrent or Usenet, you can turn your computer into a TiVo-like downloader. Here’s how to set them up. More »


Top 10 Secret Features In Mac OS X Lion

Lion’s out and there’s a lot of new stuff to explore. Apple tells you about most of it on its web site, but there are still some secret features you’ll want to know about. Here’s a look at our top 10 favourites. More »


The Complete Guide to Building A Hackintosh [OS X 10.7.2 UniBeast]

Building a Hackintosh — that is, installing Mac OS X on non-Apple hardware — used to require extremely restricted hardware choices and quite a bit of know-how. Now your options are vast and the installation process is fairly simple. With that in mind, here is our always up-to-date guide to building a hackintosh that will walk you through purchasing compatible parts, building your machine, and installing OS X all on your own. More »


Lifehacker Pack For Mac: Our List Of The Best Free Mac Downloads

Looking for a few great, free apps to beef up your Mac? We’ve got you covered with our annual Lifehacker Pack for Mac. Here are the best OS X downloads for better productivity, communication, media management, and more. More »


Set Up An Automated, Bulletproof File Back Up Solution

More and more, the fragments of your life exist as particles on a disk mounted inside your computer-disks susceptible to temperature changes, power surges, fire, theft, static, and just plain wear and tear. Hard drives fail. It’s a fact of computing life. It’s not a matter of whether your computer’s disk will stop working; it’s a matter of when. The question is how much it will disrupt your life-and it won’t, if you have a backup copy. More »


Five Best Desktop Customisation Tools

Your desktop is your virtual home, and much like you’re real home, customising it to fit your needs and style can make the difference between between a drab and depressing workspace and one you’re excited to work on. Earlier this week we asked you to share your favourite desktop customisation tools, and now we’re back with the five most popular tools for the job on Windows, Mac and Linux. More »


Ask LH: Should I Upgrade to Mac OS X Lion?

Dear Lifehacker, Now that Lion is officially available on the Mac App Store, I want to know if you think it’s worth the upgrade. I’m pretty happy with Snow Leopard, but Lion looks like it has some cool features too. Help me decide! More »


Five Best BitTorrent Applications

We’re big fans of BitTorrent. It’s the fastest way to download files quickly without lining up for an HTTP download or opening an FTP client, and it’s a great way to host large files without having to provide all of the bandwidth on your own. Here’s a look at five of the most popular BitTorrent applications. More »


The Best Mac Apps Exclusive To The Mac App Store

When the Mac App Store launched in January, we debated whether it sucked or not based on the store’s conveniences and annoyances. We avoided judging it on available apps, since the store had just been launched. Now that the App Store has had time to mature, we’re taking another look at what the Mac App Store offers that you can’t get anywhere else. Here are our favourite apps exclusive to the Mac App Store. More »


How to Get Windows’ Best Features On Mac OS X

Whether you’ve just switched to Mac or you’re secretly a little jealous of Windows 7 features, there are some things Mac OS X just doesn’t do that Windows handles beautifully. More »


Build An Attractive, Informative Mac Desktop With GeekTool

It may be covered with applications and windows most of the time, but your Mac’s desktop can also be an excellent source of information, including the time and date, available hard drive space, battery status, system performance, and more. With GeekTool, you can put all of that information right on your desktop. Here’s how you can make your desktop more useful but keep it looking sharp. More »


Lion Vs Snow Leopard: Which Is Faster?

Snow Leopard was designed with better performance in mind, but Lion was designed to offer new and compelling features. We wondered if Lion could still offer speed increases despite its extra conveniences, so we pitted the two operating systems against each other in seven tests. Which performed better? Here are our results, side by side and in video form. More »


How To Use Multiple Computers To Increase Your Productivity

Multitasking is bad for humans. Our brains aren’t really wired for it. Nonetheless, there are times when we can benefit by tackling multiple tasks at once. While our brains won’t handle it well, if we offload these many tasks to multiple computers, we can focus on one thing while they focus on many. Here’s a look at how working with more than one computer at a time can make you more productive, efficient, and alleviate frustration. More »

There you have it. It’s been a great year for Mac OS X, especially when it comes to posts of the how-to variety. Whether your favourite of the year made the list or not, we’d love to hear about the Mac download or post you loved most in the comments. Here’s to a great 2011, Mac users!


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At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

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