There are other cloud storage and synching services: Apple’s own iCloud, Box, iDolly, Google Cloud, Microsoft SkyDrive, and more. However, while they all have their virtues, none of them matches Dropbox for no hassle, transparent, “just works” functionality in the context of keeping work in progress—along with recently archived files—on several work platform laptops and my iPad harmoniously synchronized.

After almost 10 years of beta testing, Quicksilver finally announced “final” 1.0 status a few weeks back. Quicksilver is a launcher utility app (and a whole lot more, if you want it to be) for Mac OS X that gives you the ability to perform common, everyday tasks rapidly and efficiently.

Dr. Rolf Jansen’s little clock app for OS X is pretty much a one-trick pony, but it is also just plain pretty. The Clock is simply a ticker clock that displays the current time and moves its hands in a seconds cycle. It also updates its Dock icon with the current time, and ticks very gently when the clock window is open. You can hide the clock window from the Clock menu to silence the clock.

Most public WiFi networks are insecure or poorly secured, which means any user on the network can freely view the information you send and receive. If you’re worried about securing your private information, Cloak can help you guarantee your privacy on public WiFi networks.

CleanMyMac 2 was officially released last week, bringing with it a major interface overhaul and a total of eight modules designed to help you tweak your Mac for maximum performance, space, and efficiency. Whether you want to clean up old, unused files, remove unnecessary software, or just give your Mac a good spring cleaning, CMM makes it simple and fast. But is it necessary?

Mac Backup Guru for OS X is a file backup utility that claims to combine traditional cloning and file-synching methods in one user-friendly app that can easily and quickly produce a backup disk upon which Mac users can rely. With a single Start button, the user can sync the contents of any source with a backup destination via the Finder.

Windows users are familiar with the disk defragmentation tools, but you may be wondering why Macs don’t have one. Macs running in OS X later than v10.2 don’t theoretically need to be defragmented because the system has its own built-in safeguards that prevent files from becoming fragmented once a user deletes and saves files. So, do you really need to be concerned about this?

Stellar Data Recovery has launched Stellar Drive Defrag, a Free Edition of its advanced drive defragmenting software to optimize Mac hard drives and volumes, but Apple insists that you don’t need to defragment or optimize your disk when you use OS X.

I’m experiencing the first major OS X function failure in a decade of using Apple’s Unix-based OS. The “Find” function of the Finder and Spotlight has quit working in OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion. Basic Spotlight searches work, but clicking “Show All In Finder” brings up a blank window. Find searches in the Finder likewise. Happily there are third-party local search alternatives available.

With a slick and easy-to-use interface, Memory Clean works by purging the Mac’s inactive memory, and is best used after you close memory-hungry apps that you don’t not plan to use again within a few hours. A small monitor readout in the OS X menu bar shows you how much free RAM is available with a pull-down menu providing more detail (Option Click).

Keeping your Mac in tip top shape can extend its life and to keep it running as well as possible when you do use it. There are a lot of apps you can use to facilitate good system health, but which one should you go with? Today, we are going to take a look at some of the best options for any budget.

Bombich Software’s Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) has been a favorite backup, restore, and clone utility for years. However, the release of CCC version 3.5 has brought a major change (along with OS X 10.8 compatibility). Long a donationware product, with this update Carbon Copy Cloner has become commercial software, selling for $39.95, with a 30-day free trial offered.