I started using widgets back when it was known as Konfabulator and Yahoo hadn’t meddled with it yet. I was still on my Windows XP laptop then and I tell you, it sure did give my RAM a hard time. When I switched to Mac, Dashboard came pre-installed and I took it for granted. Only when I remember the times I had back on my Windows laptop, I’m grateful that I’m using a Mac now.

For this is a tribute to Dashboard - Mac’s solution to Konfabulator.

The main function of an audio converter is to change audio file from one file format to another. Sometimes, it’s good to experiment with different audio codecs to see which ones fit you. Some prefer MP3 or AAC, but others like OGG. Why? Different sound quality, smaller file sizes, for playing files on other devices (iPod, mobile phone etc.), it all boils down to your personal perference.

This is how it works: load the file you would like to convert to another format into the converter, choose the output format you want for your file and the converter will first decode the file and then re-encode it to match the output format.

If you are a user of Mac OS X you’ll probably know that the MSN application that Microsoft has developed for OS X isn’t really that amazing. For starters you can’t have a video chat with a friend or talk via a microphone using MSN on OS X. Also the interface for the application doesn’t look all that amazing.

So I have decided to make a list of five alternative chat MSN applications out there for Mac OS X that have better functionality and allow you to customize the look and feel of the application.

(1) Adium

I got my first (and only) Mac about a year ago and discovered I hated one of the major features that makes OS X different from Windows. I resented having to move my mouse so high, just to get at the file or edit menu way up there in the menu bar. I’ve since come to love the menu bar and I’ve recently begun experimenting with some small apps that sit there unobtrusively waiting for me to glance at them or access them — often with a hotkey.

For those who use Apple Mail on Leopard, you will know that it’s a pretty basic e-mail application. It fetches your mail, archives it on your Mac and you might think that it ends there. With a couple of plug-ins however, you could extend the functionality of Apple Mail by miles.

There are a lot of plug-ins out there. A few of them do some pretty cool stuff, and others you probably wouldn’t need. I’m going to focus on four Apple Mail plug-ins which I find to be very useful.

In the first part of my article, I wrote about mapping Exposé onto your mouse buttons, blocking out distractions while working, using keyboard shortcuts, Sidenote and Spotlight. Now, in the spirit of productivity, let’s just get on with part two!

1. Organize your Mac

Having a cluttered workspace takes up precious time when you’re trying to find certain documents which you might have misplaced. The first step in using your time wisely to do work is organization - knowing where everything goes. There are several ways to accomplish this.