While I tried resisting writing a list post, I just couldn’t resist talking about my favorite apps for Mac OS X. I have several Macs, and I couldn’t stand working on them without having the following apps (and so many more) installed immediately. Naturally this isn’t the only apps I find to be necessary to my OS X workflow, only 10 of my favorites, I’d be happy to know some of yours ;)
10. Fetch Art
I have tens of thousands of MP3s, naturally ripped from my personal CD collection, and thus it’s always a nightmare to organize and move my MP3s around while still keeping the cover art images in-place. Enter Fetch Art, a nifty little script which scans the ID3 tages of your songs in iTunes and automatically downloads the appropriate track’s cover art directly from Amazon.com with pretty good accuracy. (License: Donationware)
9. UnRarX
UnRarX is a GUI application that uses the unix command line apps ‘unrar’ and ‘par2′ to let you expand rar archives, as well as restore corrupted and/or missing archives using par2. Handy for those who download binaries often from newsgroups, you know who you are. (License: GPL)
8. MacPAR Deluxe
Following number 9 comes another newsgroups favorite, MacPAR Deluxe. MacPar is a mighty powerful utility which is primarily for ensuring error-free transport of data from ‘par’ and ‘par2′ files. It’s features include full support of the ‘par 1′ and ‘par 2′ standards, verification, recovery and automatica unrar of parity files, including visual representation of the current status of all files contained with an archive. It’s also capable of launching an external unpacker in the rare case it’s unable to unpack the archive on it’s own (see #9). (License: Donationware)
7. Quicksilver
Quicksilver has appeared on just about every list associated with Mac OS X software, so naturally it had to appear here. Quicksilver is everyone’s favorite Finder-replacement and has become so integrated into my daily workflow, that I couldn’t imagine using a Mac without it being installed. (License: GNU GPL)
6. Text Wrangler
I was a huge fan of UltraEdit on the PC, but that was then, this is now. I needed a powerful, yet affordable text editor for coding, and in walked Text Wrangler. Text Wrangler is an extremely powerful text editor, suitable for Unix and server administrator’s, HTML-pushers, and scripters alike. Best of all, it’s from the creators of BBedit, THE text editor for hardcore text editing on a Mac AND it’s free! (License: Freeware)
5. Fugu
I don’t know anyone who prefers using FTP over a much more secure system, such as SCP or SFTP. I’ve personally shut down FTP completely on any servers I’ve administered and required all users to transfer files using SCP (WinSCP on XP or Fugu on OS X). Fugu is a GUI which eases access to OS X’s built-in Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), which is similar to FTP, only the session is entirely encrypted and is much more secure than normal FTP. Fugu also allows SCP file transfers, as well as session saving and a Finder-like interface for interaction. (License: BSD-Style Freeware)
4. Firestarter FX
For those still burning their CDs you must get Firestart FX. A pure Cocoa burning application, it’s one of the few, if not the only, burning applications for the Mac which allows duplication of all kinds of CDs, as well as burning VCDs and SVCDs. Oh, Overburning! Who can forget, it’s the only burning app I’ve found which supports overburning, a staple of burning applications on the PC. (License: Donationware)
3. Little Snitch
Anyone who’s recently switched to Mac knows the problem that spyware and adware are for Windows users. I’m the type of person who likes to see how my software is using my internet connection. Whether calling home or reporting usage statistics, I want to know. Little Snitch enables the user to find this information out. Running natively within the operating system, Little Snitch informs the user when an application wants to connect to the internet and where it wants to send the information to, allowing the user to deny or approve this request. Very powerful, nice small footprint. (License: Commercial $24.95 USD)
2. Conto
Tracking bank accounts and finances isn’t a strength of mine, but Conto is a nifty little freeware application that eases that task for me. Providing a powerful finance tracking system, complete with graphing abilities, support for different currencies and strong encryption, Conto is an extremely powerful free application. (License: GPL)
1. MySync
Keeping Macs on a LAN in sync is not always a fun OR easy task. MySync makes this an easy task, allowing automatic detection of other MySync “nodes” running on your LAN (via Bonjour), automatic sync scheduling, SSL encryption, and syncing capabilities for Address Book, Safari bookmarks, and iCal. (License: Open beta – for now)
Delicious this
9:26 am UTC on July 30th, 2010
wow, awesome post, I was wondering how to cure acne naturally. and found your site by bing, many userful stuff here, now i have got some idea. bookmarked and also signed up your rss. keep us updated.
6:01 am UTC on August 12th, 2010
Thanks for this post ¨C I really like it!!
1:31 pm UTC on August 12th, 2010
I¡¯m really to be finally posting online after all these years. There really is no mystery about it, is there? I just dropped by your blog and had to write. I¡¯m a recent college grad, journalism major if you must know, and I absolutely love the art of photography. I¡¯ve got my website up but it¡¯s nothing to brag about yet. None of my stuff¡¯s been posted. Soon as I figure out how to do that, I¡¯ll spend the day posting my best pictures. anyway just thought I¡¯d drop a line. I hope to return with more substantial stuff, stuff you can actually use. SPG
4:22 am UTC on August 13th, 2010
The entire manga has never been completely translated. There was a group working on it, but they only got to volume 10 before they disbanded. The site that they used to run has also been taken down, so finding a place to download it will be next to impossible. The best you could hope for is that another group re-translates everything that was lost and/or picks up where the last group left off.
11:45 am UTC on August 17th, 2010
Lots of usefull information and inspiration, both of which we all need, thank you for this.
6:04 am UTC on August 18th, 2010
sweet!! Rubber bands are the last step. The end is in sight! Just make sure you wear them as you are directed to, and your jaw should line up nicely. :)
6:28 am UTC on August 18th, 2010
Companies generally reuse them. They will be refilled for sale. If you don’t want to sell it back to the company, sell it on ebay. I would find out shipping info before selling because there may be some shipping restrictions.
7:43 pm UTC on August 18th, 2010
Whoa just assumed you have to know that your all above Bing and Yahoo lookup engines. Actually awesome content that you have and appreciation once more for the good quality composing.
7:54 pm UTC on August 18th, 2010
Interesting.
3:57 pm UTC on August 21st, 2010
I use google Map loaded on my cell phone & my GPS device is connected to my cell phone using bluetooth, so I get the complete access to all the locations that I visit.
6:09 am UTC on August 24th, 2010
There are a couple of ways to load music onto your Sansa. The easiest way to it simply drag and drop files right to the Sansa player, just like you would with any other external drive. Connect your player to your computer and go into My Computer. Open up your Sansa and then open the Internal Storage. Then, open up the folder where you keep your music. All you have to go now is simply drag the songs of folders you want to put on your player from the music folder over to the internal storage of your player. Or, you can sync your player with a jukebox program like Windows Media Player. To do this, open up Windows Media Player and make sure it recognizes your player. Then, go into the Sync tab and create a list of what you want to sync. Then, just hot the sync button and it will copy everything over to your player. Hope that helps.
7:23 am UTC on August 24th, 2010
Download and install winRAR, open one part, drag and drop the file inside to anywhere, then copy it to your psp’s memory stick (you can drop the file directly to your psp). If you needed any more help, messaage me.
7:39 am UTC on August 24th, 2010
Did you try to turn off the GPS to see if it still happened? Is your opener wired into the car or is it a simple hand held one? Is your GPS wired into the car or is it an after market one?
10:33 am UTC on August 24th, 2010
your denture is ill fitting either due to a manufacture fault…or as u say u have a strong gag reflex u naturally unintentionally try to throw it out.. relinening and rebasing is done for this purpose.. certain adhesives are also used…so u shud just go to the dentist who made it and tell him abt ur complain
2:13 am UTC on August 26th, 2010
You should discuss this with your vet as they will be the best person to recommend supplements or medication that is best for your dog. I can tell you that I work at an animal hospital and the vet has been recommending Ubavet glucosamine HCL to alot of clients. A few of the clients that I have spoken to (when in for refills) say it works great.
2:59 pm UTC on August 26th, 2010
Hello! I just want to say thx for providing such useful information.
4:19 pm UTC on August 31st, 2010
If the VPN access address isn’t blocked by the Chinese government, then that must mean they approve of it. Otherwise, they would block it. Therefore, it’s not illegal.
10:49 am UTC on September 1st, 2010
It could be that someone might have hacked your facebook account in which you need to change your facebook. If someone is on your facebook on another computer and they log in, it automatically logs you out.
1:33 pm UTC on September 1st, 2010
Search Engine Optimization is the process of structuring your page so it will be quickly indexed by search engines, and appear at the top of search results.
3:40 pm UTC on September 1st, 2010
My answer is, who cares. Both have no relevance or importance. Personally, I stopped watching the news 10 years ago. I read the paper everyday as then I skip what I could care less about and the next days paper is always full of new and more important events.
6:50 am UTC on September 3rd, 2010
I suggest going to someplace that sells multiple brands and trying them out. I just got a new Viking after fighting with my brother since I was given it 6 years ago. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a hobby, but sometimes I really need my sewing machine to do what I want it to do. The Brother couldn’t do upholstery/heavier materials, always had tension issues. Pretty much, for things such as dresses, clothing, you need something that can do stretch stitches, maybe a few fancy stitches, automatic button holes. I just used my automatic button-hole set-up for the first time. LOVE IT!!!! As a kid/teen I remember using my mom’s sewing machine and trying to make buttonholes on it, I dreaded making garments with buttons. Think of all the things you want to do with the machine, what type of materials you will be sewing. Go test them out, see the set up. Where I went sold Brother, Singer, and Viking. The woman showed me ever feature, talked of the pros and cons of each brand they sold. She was real honest with me. I love my new sewing machine, and sew more now than I ever have. I researched ratings online. Checked out websites for the top manufactures (just do a search for brother, viking, janome, singer) I knew what I wanted, what I didn’t, and my husband since he was paying set the price limit. I spent $375 for a Viking Emerald 18. It has all the stitches I need for what I do, plus a few extra I am having fun using and learning. I love that it has a speed control (just like in the car I am a bit heavy on the petal). Like I said, automatic button holes, what a god send, can’t say more about that. Came with numerous feet, for different materials and applications. Instruction book is easy to follow. It has a great warranty, and the store I bought it from have a great up-grade program. Hope this helps in your search. I was lost for a long time in what to buy as well. I knew how to sew, knew what I used the sewing machine for, but was trying desperately to keep away from all the problems I had with my other sewing machine. I would definitely recommend the Viking Emerald, but don’t be afraid to go out to local retailers (no big chain stores) try them out, they will let you if they want to sell you one, just like a car, got to be comfortable with where and how all the controls are.