Here at About: Macs, we love utilities that make common tasks easier. DragonDrop does just that. It takes the task of dragging an item from one location to another and makes it easier. If you're wondering how such an easy task can be made any easier, how many times have you started to drag an item and then had to stop halfway through to find the destination? This usually means dropping the item back in its original location, opening a Finder window, navigating to the target location for the item, and then grabbing the item again and dragging it to its destination.

DragonDrop

With DragonDrop, you can pause the dragging process by simply shaking the mouse or dropping the item on the DragonDrop menu bar item. Either way, the item is temporarily stored in a floating window that stays on top of the Desktop, while you unclutter your Desktop or open a Finder window and navigate to the destination. You can then simply continue dragging the item from where you left off.

DragonDrop is $4.99. A demo is available.

See other software choices from Tom's Mac Software Picks.

Come June 30^th, MobileMe will be a thing of the past, a footnote, a forlorn entry in an obscure corner of Wikipedia. In the meantime, Apple has been trying to move MobileMe users to its new iCloud service.

Courtesy of Apple

But iCloud may not be the solution some MobileMe users are looking for, especially those who don't want to (or can't) upgrade to OS X Lion, the minimum requirement for making the transition to iCloud.

On the good news front, Apple has stated that existing MobileMe mail accounts will continue to work long after the June 30^th date. If you rely on MobileMe mail, you'll still have access, but the rest of the service will go dark at the appointed time.

If you use MobileMe, I highly recommend backing up your iDisk information to local storage. After that, you'll need to decide what you want to do about the cloud-based services you currently use that will be going away.

Your choices are to move to OS X Lion and iCloud, or to use alternative cloud services to replicate the MobileMe services.

If the latter appeals to you, take a look at:

Replace MobileMe Services With These Free Alternatives

This list will guide you through creating your own versions of MobileMe's core cloud-based services.

Apple has updated the environment section of its web site to indicate that by the end of the year (if construction goes according to schedule), the Maiden, North Carolina data center will be run 100% from renewable energy.

Apple has listed the data center as requiring 20 megawatts of power at full capacity. Apple plans to produce the majority of its power from on-site solar and fuel cell energy systems. The solar installation will cover two 100-acre sites, with each site able to produce 20 megawatts or 42 million kilowatt-hours of energy annually. The bio-gas powered fuel cell system will add another 5 megawatts of capacity to the system.

Energy needs beyond what is produced onsite will be purchased from local or regional clean and renewable energy sources.

Apple is also in the planning stages for its new data center in Prineville, Oregon, and is planning to power that data center with renewable energy sources as well.

Also in the planning stages is the conversion of Apple's existing data center in Fremont, California to run exclusively from renewable energy sources. In the Fremont data center, this will take the form of electrical supply contracts from clean renewable energy suppliers in the area. You may see the windmills at the Altamont Pass turning a bit faster soon.

Have you ever wished that your Safari bookmarks were exactly the same on all of your Macs? MobileMe users have had bookmark syncing for quite a while, and syncing is built into the Firefox browser.

Courtesy of Apple

But with MobileMe going away, and the current version of iCloud lacking some MobileMe features, including the ability to sync Safari's bookmark, I thought it was time for a guide to creating your own bookmark syncing service.

In this guide, we will take you through the process of syncing Safari to a single bookmark file stored in the cloud. So, if you're ready for all of your Macs to share the same Safari bookmarks, take a look at:

Sync Safari Bookmarks Using Dropbox