This week Jonathan has a previous commitment, so I am seeking a stand in to cover the hardware side of things. Meanwhile, I am also soliciting your questions! What do you want to know about Macs? I’ll be taking questions before the podcast to get you comprehensive answers, and quick questions during the podcast as well in chat.

Whipping out a basic web page is something many people think about but then get stuck implementing. If you aren’t an HTML wizard, where do you turn? If you own a Mac, the answer is simple - there are several decent options for the aspiring web page owner.

Of all the rumors that pass across the internet regarding Macs, the ones I’m actually tracking have to do with the MacBook and MacBook Pro. This is purely for selfish reasons. I am in dire need of a new laptop to replace the much abused MacBook I currently have (a MacBook 1,1), and have been purposely holding off to see how pricing, features and design might change with a possible new line up.

In the “useless but pretty” category comes today’s application out of Google’s Mac Playground: Top Draw. Google has long been accused of giving short shrift to the Mac community, and their Google Mac Playground is an attempt to rectify that situation. Top Draw is a fun little application from the Google development treasure trove for Mac heads to play with.

Have a dead MacBook Pro?  Convinced it’s the logic board that needs replaced?  Then you may want to read on ahead.  Keep in mind this isn’t for the non-techie, involves taking apart the whole laptop and will waste a good portion of your day for a procedure that may or may not work.

If you have ever wanted to use your Mac to measure your energy use and be a better and more environmentally conscious human, now you can. Tendril is a free widget you can download to your Mac that helps to make you use less energy.

When the Genius feature was introduced in iTunes 8, I have to admit, I didn’t see the immediate benefits- automatic playlist creation has been around for some time in other music software.  Upon more examination and use of the feature, the true “genius” of the Genius feature has made itself more apparent. 

Today we had the first episode of MacJunkies. We kept it short (15 minutes), however, future episodes will be 30 minutes long. We talked about the iPhone 3G vs the T-Mobile G1 with Google Android, LED light issues in MacBook Pros, where to go for replacement motherboards (logic boards), and a few ‘fun’ Mac rumors like Steve Job’s death.

The cell phone junkies out there eagerly awaited the official announcement from T-Mobile and Google of the G1 by HTC with Android. The announcement did not disappoint - this phone made me consider dropping Verizon and switching back to T-Mobile for the first time in years.

Have you ever gotten your favorite CD or DVD stuck in the disk drive in your Mac? Had a CD or DVD inserted improperly, only to make the sounds of a dying yak and get jammed up? Had difficulty having iTunes read your disc? Chances are the answer to these and many other common questions is a resounding yes.