Utilities

So I was thinking today, as I ponder my new, streamlined approach to computing, if I should drop my Mac, or if it were to get stolen, or lost, what's the most important thing I'd have to have off of it, right away?

I had a few different thoughts but quickly settled on my contacts. Well no problem I thought. Those are backed up in my time machine on an external USB drive that I always keep someplace that my Mac is not. But then I thought, how in the world would I get them without another Mac to restore the backup from? No big deal, right? Just export the address book to a .csv file and open it in Excel on whatever computer happens to be close by. But Mac's Address book doesn't export to .csv, only vCards.

A quick Google search showed me a utility that is not free, but is something that no one who uses Macs Address Book application should be without. Its called, oddly enough, Address Book Export, and it will in fact let you export to a number of different formats including .csv. And since it was available in the Apps store, I didn't even have to enter my credit card number. :-) A click or two later, I had all 160 or 170 addresses in a raw, ugly, .csv file, which I promptly copied to the flash drive that I'm not wearing around my neck any more and I'm more prepared for the eventual disaster than I was previously. It's a worthwhile download I think.