Apple seems to take a certain pride in defying expectations, and this week was no exception. The company blew the doors off of Wall Street's projections, turning in a highly profitable quarter with both iPhones and Macs flying off the shelves, despite difficult economic conditions and their refusal to release an inexpensive computer to compete with the plethora of sub-$500 PCs such as netbooks. Even as Windows 7 is coming out to good reviews, Apple appears to show no signs of slowing down. It's full steam ahead in Cupertino.

What's new in the Mac world? Oh, not much, just a major new release of Mac OS X is all, one that very inexpensively makes your Mac that much faster, more stable, and more enjoyable to use. It's called Mac OS X 10.6, a.k.a. Snow Leopard.

You know how to import your photos off your digital camera into iPhoto, and you know how to create a slideshow with your photos. What else can you do with it? Here is a list of 5 things I do with iPhoto that you may not know about.

Well, it's that time again: Apple's yearly developer conference, when they announce things new and wonderful. As Apple has now officially bowed out of their winter MacWorld Expo convention, this is the only formally scheduled event of the year in which Apple makes announcements. The WWDC (that's Worldwide Developer Conference) is a bit of a pilgramage for Mac and iPhone developers from far and wide. The popularity of the iPhone caused WWDC to sell out last year; this year, it sold out six weeks in advance!

This is a short list of my 10 current personal faves in the iPhone apps store. I tried to pick apps that you might not know about, or that do unusual things--since at this point everybody already has a favorite Facebook, voice memo, Twitter, and burping app.

This isn't going to be our most fun newsletter. But it is time to answer the questions we've been getting recently about whether Mac users need to start running extra security software to protect themselves from malicious software, aka malware.

As many of you know, we don't just love Macs around here; gadgets also make our hearts pump faster. And that means, of course, mobile phones. We thought we'd bring you up to date on the latest and greatest.

Here are some of our favorite Mac tips and tools (some of them are for PC users too). We don't have a financial relationship with any of these companies, nor are we responsible for the quality of their products or services. So please do your own research as necessary--as you should do with any recommendation.

Last week, Apple made its last-ever keynote presentation at MacWorld Expo in San Francisco. We thought you might want to know what they had to say, but first...

Today’s newsletter focuses on using the Apple Store as a resource for computer training. You can sign up for individual sessions or for workshops. More details are below.