Mac 101: Apple's product guide

Back to basics with Mac 101, our ongoing series of posts aimed at new Mac users. If you've got a hankering for news about the latest Mac-compatible products, you've got plenty of places to look (including, naturally, right here). What if you've got a specific product need, something obscure, small-audience or somewhat vintage? You can always hit the search engines or check our archives, but there's a one-stop shop for Mac-compatible products that doesn't always get top billing: Apple's Macintosh Product Guide, tucked away at guide.apple.com.

This venerable database of Mac apps and hardware (it's under the Developer heading on Apple's site nav, and judging by the 'lasso' URLs it may run off a FileMaker back-end– way to support the home team!) lists thousands of products, and it's got separate categories for iPod and iPhone accessories. Starting off with the guide is a great idea if you need to find a vertical-market or niche app; you'll probably come up with several good choices.