ShaggyMac

If you have a laptop, you likely have marks on your screen from the keyboard. The oils on your fingers get left on the keys and the screen is pressed against the keys ends up leaving nice marks on your screen. Mac laptops are especially susceptible to this because of the thin case and small distance between the keys and screen. I've had a lot of laptops in my life and every time I get a new laptop, I get a ShaggyMac screen protector. These thin pieces of micro fiber protect your screen from the keys and also work as a great screen cleaning cloth. They are custom cut of your computer and come in a variety of colors and designs. Also, you can even get them for PC laptops.

OtterBox Defender Case - iPhone & iPad

If you have an iPhone, you are likely concerned that it could get damaged, or at least you should be concerned about that. Those things aren't cheap! When I got my iPhone I new I'd want a good case for it. A case that could hold up to some abuse and protect my phone. Also, I really wanted something to protect the screen from scratches. I tried a couple of different cases and when I found the Defender Case from OtterBox I knew I found the case I was looking for.

This case has a hard polycarbonate case, surrounded by a silicone. The case also has a cover over the screen that allows you to use your touchscreen without removing anything. So the hard case is strong and protective. The silicone cover provides some bumper protection and give a bit of grip so your phone doesn't slip out of your hands. The screen cover does a nice job of protecting your screen. I've used my case for about 18 months now and have been really happy. I've dropped my phone a few times and it's survived just fine.



The case also gives you access to all the ports and controls. While, I'll admit the ringer switch is a little hard to get to without fingernails, it still works. I have two small  concerns with this case.

• The screen protector does have some adhesion between it and the actual screen. So I get some strange shadows/shapes between the screen and the protector.
• The case adds some "heft" to the iPhone. I knew this going in. The iPhone is slim and light, and I wanted to protect it. So The slim and light iPhone with a nice protective case is no longer slim and light. It still fits into my pocket just fine and I actually prefer the feel of it in my hand to an "uncased" iPhone. For some, this is just not an option. Of course, those tend to be the folks that buy new phones ever 3-6 months because they dropped their phone getting out the car and the screen cracked!

OtterBox has a Defender Case for the iPad coming soon, and I plan to order that as soon as it's available. Neither of these cases are cheap, but my experience with the iPhone case tells me my iPad will be saved from some bumps and drops too. So the cost seems worth it.

MobileMe

When MobileMe (formerly .Mac) first came out, I paid my fee to be a loyal Apple supporter. I never actually used any of the products. I had my own web server so I didn't need online storage or websites. Nor did I need another email address. After things for Apple started to turn around, I let my subscription lapse.
Then something happened. I kept all my information (e.g., calendar, contacts, and so on) on my laptop and I synced all of this info with my iPhone on a regular basis. I also regularly backed everything up. Then I got a shiny new iMac in my office. This meant I wasn't taking my laptop back and forth to campus any more. However, I wanted to have all my information synced between the two computers and my iPhone.

I started looking at solutions like the apps from Google, like Google Calendar but I was just seeing too many hurdles to make it all work. The price for many of these options was really low and even free, but the set-up and hoops just seems like a barrier. So I started using using MobileMe. Like most things Apple, it just works. My contacts, bookmarks, calendars, etc are all synced between my computers, iPhone and now my iPad. If I make a change on one, it's updated everywhere. Also, I can access this info from the Web if I'm without my iPhone or computer. Additionally, the "Find my iPhone/iPad" option found at me.com is huge! iPhones/iPads aren't cheap and the ability to locate it and even lock it remotely is worth the yearly subscription cost.

While $99 a year is a little salty, the convenience is worth the cost. In addition, I do get 20GB of storage online and it could handle some back-ups, etc. I don't use those features, but they are available if I needed them. It is pretty handy to put albums up from iPhoto for others to download images. I don't have to do much to get the album up there so it's a time saver for me as well.

If you haven't tried MobileMe, you can try if for free for 60 days. If you have multiple devices, I'll bet you find it worth the $99 a year.

iCal/Address Book/Mail - Often overlooked...completely useful

While most of my colleagues use Outlook or Entourage, I really prefer Apple's solution: iCal, Address Book, and Mail. This really does everything I want/need. These apps work together and throughout a number of Apple applications.
iCal
One of the things I love about iCal is the fact that I can maintain multiple calendars in one place. I have at least 10 different calendars. For example, I have a calendar for my classes and my office hours, trips, special days (birthdays/anniversaries), etc. To further make me even happier the calendars can be color-coded. You can also add multiple alarms/alerts to an event.
Address Book
Address Book is a nice simple contacts management app. It does a great job with contacts and multiple addresses/email addresses/phone numbers, etc. It is a little "clunky" when dealing with family addresses (i.e., Mom & Dad). Tehre are creative ways to make it work, but it's just a little bit of a pain.
Mail.app
Managing all the email we get can be a big problem. Apple's Mail.app takes a lot of the hassle out of managing multiple email accounts. I use it with POP3 and IMAP accounts. All my messages end up in one place.
Syncing
I sync everything between my office iMac and my laptop, my iPhone and my iPad using MobileMe. While Microsoft Outlook and Entourage are pretty well known and used in the enterprise setting. The latest versions of iCal , Address Book, and Mail.app work with Exchange Server out of the box.