Well, today when I was using my mac, I needed a good utility to Un-RAR some files that I downloaded. Here, I have listed my 5 most favorite un-rarers. To test the power of these programs, I timed the extraction of a 545.5MB Windows XP installation image, which was placed in a RAR. All tests were done on my 2.0GHz Aluminum Unibody Macbook.

5. Jomic

Test Time: 0:37

Jomic is a comic book reader. However, it allows you to extract files from an RAR, and it is quite speedy at it for something it wasn’t designed to do.

4. The Unarchiver

Test Time: 0:30

This program offers a simple interface and a wide range of compatibility, but sometimes fails to do the job correctly.

3. Stuffit Expander

Test Time: 0:34

This program is simple to use and is compatible with several formats, however once in a while it won’t extract a file that one of the apps below will.

2. UnRarX

Test Time: 0:34

This is my 2nd choice, as it is simple, has a good interface, and gets the job done.

1. SimplyRAR (v 1.09 w/ rar v 3.90 beta 2)

Test Time: 0:33

SimplyRAR is my personal favorite extraction program. It resembles WinRAR very closely, and works very well at extracting and building RAR files. The time with the readily available version, 1.09, was significantly slower than any of the other programs, but when I upgraded the rar version inside of the .app package, it sped up to 2nd place.

As some of you may know, I purchased an Aluminum Apple MacBook around 1 month ago. Before the purchase of my MacBook, I was solely a Windows guy. However, after a month with my Mac, I’ve found OS X 10.5 (Leopard) to be superior to Windows in almost every aspect. Along with the software, things are greatly improved when Apple designs a computer, as it “just works,” and the industrial design is beautiful.

Jump the break to read my full review.

(more…)

I recently decided to try out this new program I heard about from Logos called NoteScraps. NoteScraps is a Note Management program, where you can enter any little tidbit of information that may be scattered around your desk (However, I wouldn’t keep my SSN in it as seen in their introuductary video.) NoteScraps costs $20, however there is a free trial version at their website.

(more…)