John Rizzo

If you're doing your own taxes, think about this rule of thumb: The more complicated your tax return, the more you need software to help you prepare it. Both Intuit's TurboTax and H&R Block At Home will guide you through the tax prep process for any financial situation while informing you about tax breaks that you might not be aware of. And as in previous years, TurboTax does a better job of it than H&R Block At Home.

TurboTax is a more user-friendlier interface to a decidedly user-unfriendly tax code, providing superior help, better navigation of the software, and great error checking. H&R Block At Home will do the job and offers options to pay for expert advice should you run into trouble. But it is more difficult to use, and revealed some rough edges, including some incomplete answers to tax questions and clunky error checking.

When you work on projects on both a Mac and a Windows PC, syncing them can prevent problems of multiple versions or missing files. Laplink recently added Mac support to its PCsync 6.0 sync product for Windows (the Mac component is called version 1.0). PCsync can provide secure one-way or two-way syncing with a variety of options. PCsync will move data over one of Laplink's optional USB cables ($30 or $40 depending on speed), an Ethernet cable, or over a network (which is how I tested the software).

This first Mac version is clearly an add-on to the Windows version. You can only set up and initiate syncs from the Windows PC. The PCsyncHost software that installs on the Mac only provides identification and login options for the PC connecting to it. The software on the PC can sync with a Mac, with another Windows PC, and with multiple computers at the same time. PCsyncHost running on the Mac can only sync with a PC that connects to it, and cannot sync with another Mac. Laplink said that it would add Mac-to-Mac capability in a future version.

There are three good ways to share a single hard drive between Macs and PCs for general storage and backup: You can trade a USB hard drive between them; you can use a network-attached storage (NAS) device (such as Apple's Time Capsule); and you can also use file sharing to back up data on one system to an external drive attached to another system.

Swap a USB Hard Drive

Viewing what's on the screen of another computer--or even controlling that other computer remotely--can be super-handy, for troubleshooting, looking up documents, or running a program you can't run locally.

As with file-sharing, remotely accessing a Mac from another Mac is relatively straightforward. The tools are built into OS X; you turn on screen-sharing in the Sharing preference pane. But setting up screen-sharing between a Mac and Windows PC takes a bit more work, and requires installing some third-party software. The biggest problem: Macs can't share screens with PCs running Windows 7 Home Premium edition.

Sharing files from a Mac to a Mac is simple: You enable file-sharing in the Sharing preference pane and that's it. But trying to share files from a Mac to a PC requires a few more steps. And trying to access a PC's files from a Mac is more challenging still.

Share a Mac's Files

For syncing Macs with Windows Mobile smartphones, The Missing Sync for Windows Mobile from Mark/Space has been the top solution. Version 4 adds support for new types of data syncing and the ability to move phone logs and SMS messages to your Mac. But it still lacks e-mail syncing, something you can find in SyncMate Expert ( Macworld rated 4 out of 5 mice ), Eltima Software's competing product.

The Missing Sync can move contacts, calendars, iTunes music and playlists, files, and other data over USB, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi, depending on the connection types your phone supports. For most data types, you can do two-way syncing or overwrite data from the phone or the Mac.

Version 2.4 was a major upgrade for the SyncMate sync utility, adding new features and new devices for the Mac to sync with. In addition to Pocket PCs and smartphones, Macs running SyncMate can also sync with another Mac, a Windows PC, a Nokia Series 40 phone, a Sony Playstation Portable (PSP), and with a USB flash drive. You can sync with all of these devices and computers at one time, or choose which to sync. You can connect with a USB cable, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth, depending on what the device supports.

SyncMate comes in a free version that can sync with Address Book and iCal, and with Entourage contacts and calendars. It can also copy SMS messages to the Mac, where you can read and search through them. A nice touch is the ability to delete all contacts, events, or to-dos that reside the device or another computer that your Mac is connected. This is an easy way to clear out old data before syncing for the first time.

Although Mac fanboys and Windows zealots don't like to admit it, the fact is that both Windows 7 and Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard contain features that originated in the other OS. Some features were stolen so long ago that they've become part of the computing landscape, and it's difficult to remember who invented what.

Two of Windows 7's most touted new features -- the task bar and Aero Peek -- are clearly based on Mac OS X's Dock and Exposé. Apple's copying of Windows is less recent, such as cloning the Windows address bar in 2007's Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard as the path bar.

Where Apple deserves the innovation credit

Where Microsoft deserves the innovation credit

Although Mac fanboys and Windows zealots don't like to admit it, the fact is that both Windows 7 and Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard contain features that originated in the other OS. Some features were stolen so long ago that they've become part of the computing landscape, and it's difficult to remember who invented what.

Two of Windows 7's most touted new features -- the task bar and Aero Peek -- are clearly based on Mac OS X's Dock and Exposé. Apple's copying of Windows is less recent, such as cloning the Windows address bar in 2007's Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard as the path bar.

You can do some great things in a Web browser, but some tasks are better left to software installed on your computer. This is true for e-mail, for instance. It's also true for tax preparation.

Intuit TurboTax and H&R Block TaxCut both come in desktop and online versions. I compared the desktop versions of TurboTax and TaxCut elsewhere at Macworld.com. Here, I look at the online versions of TaxCut Premium and TurboTax Home and Business, both with the California state option. As with the desktop versions, TurboTax online is superior to TaxCut online, with better navigation and help. But neither measure up to their desktop counterparts.