Podcamp AZ is (one of) the best social media conferences on the planet and this weekend is PCAZ Number 3! I can’t even express how amazing this event is and if you have any possible way to attend, you NEED to come! Don’t worry though, I know this is short notice and if you are not going to be in AZ, you can watch the live show featuring most, if not all of the speakers, their topics and some great virtual communication. Please join us this weekend and expand your knowledge, share some ideas and engage in the awesome that is Podcamp AZ! It’s gonna blow your mind!

Recently, I needed to find an application that was “similar” to one I use on Windows, which was Microsoft Visio.  After asking around on Twitter, there was only one response from a bunch of people…..OmniGraffle.  Wow, how did I not run across this before?  Needless to say this was an app I had to grab, as just looking briefly at the screenshots on their website, I knew this would work for me.

Just to get you up to speed, OmniGraffle is an application to create diagrams, charts, layouts, mockups, and everything else in between.  My need at the time was to create a detailed network chart of devices, computers, wireless access points, etc.  I was anxious to jump in to Omnigraffle and see what it could do.
Upon start OmniGraffle presents you with a fair amount of templates to get you started.  These range from space planning, to organizational charts.  Of course, you can start with a clean slate by starting with a blank page.  OmniGraffle is one of those applications where you can jump right in and get to work.  However, you would be missing out on so many features that there isn’t enough time to describe them all.

OmniGraffles includes a ton of stencils, shapes, fonts, fills, and much more.  Much of this is common objects you would use when creating a document.  You don’t have to rely on these completely though, as you can use virtually any image by simply dragging it onto the canvas.  You can also create your own stencils, and there is even an online repository to download more.

Creating your chart is easy, there is no other way to put it.  Drag your objects onto the canvas, and then you have a huge range of tools at your disposal.  Just about everything is editable and adjustable, so the manipulations you can do to your design is almost endless.  Whether it’s a mockup of a website you are planning, or a network chart, you will not find anything better to create them with than OmniGraffle.

Trial downloads are available at http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnigraffle/.

Last night, I decided to replace my hard drive. I had recently done it on my wife’s 13″ MacBook and it was super simple so I figured that my 17″ (late 2006 model) would be easy as well. Boy, was I surprised when I downloaded the how-to guide. It was minor surgery and a bit unnerving to say the least. Nevertheless with extreme care and meticulous attention to detail, the deed was done and I now have a brand new 500gb hard drive in my machine. I wouldn’t recommend doing this yourself if your macbook is still in warranty because I have heard this will void it. Mine is just out of warranty and been operated on several times by the Apple care crew so I figured I would take the risk. If yours is as well and you have the intestinal fortitude to operate on your Mac, it’s not too bad. Just make sure you have the right tools, follow the guide and it doesn’t hurt to pray. Happy tinkering!

• TextExpander
• Things
• Suitcase Fusion
• Last.fm
• Mailplane
• Tweetie Desktop
• TextMate
• Dropbox
• GrabUp
• Transmit

NOTE: I have been informed that GrabUp isn’t playing too nice with Snow Leopard so honorable mention goes to TinyGrab for nearly the same simple functions as GrabUp.

Not only is Bento great for home use, it can also be a valuable tool for small businesses.  Inventory, customer databases, contact management, the possibilities are out there to create a database for almost every type of small business need you can think of.  This new edition brings a bunch of new features and updates, much of which was requested by users.

• iPhoto Integration. Placing images inside a created database was always as easy as drag and drop, but with iPhoto integration, using images in Bento has gone to a whole new level.
• Sharing. This feature alone is worth the upgrade.  Using a local network, you can share your information with others creating a fantastic way to collaborate with family members or co-workers.
• Grid View. They have added a new grid view which gives a much cleaner way of viewing images, documents, etc. inside your databases.  They have also improved the File list view as well.

These are just a few of the new features, and I had the pleasure of checking these out early for myself, and I can say without a doubt FileMaker listening to their users and really took the time to improve even more upon an already exceptional product.

More templates have been added, and many more are available at the Bento Template Exchange where users can upload their own templates to share with others.  After using it myself, I can recommend the upgrade to existing users, and if you are in need of a personal database solution, then look no further.

A free trial is available at http://www.filemaker.com/trybento3pr, and existing Bento users can take advantage of a $20 rebate by purchasing through the http://store.filemaker.com/US/ENG/RTLFileMaker Store.  New users can grab a copy for just $49, or a family pack of 5 licenses for just $99.

For more information about Bento, visit http://www.filemaker.com/products/bento/overview.html