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Ten Mac Apps
Apologies to those who don’t use Mac OS X. This entry will very likely bore you.
Normally, I avoid memes like the plague, but the truth is, I’ve benefitted from the “10 Mac Apps” thing that’s been floating around certain circles—found apps I never would have otherwise—and figured the least I could do was participate myself. Especially after a weekend like this one, when I spent time exorcising my parents’ PC (yes, again), and well….
Besides, Osito just switched, and he’s curious about the programs I use. What more excuse do I need?
And so, following in the footsteps of Om Malik, who started this whole thing:
I though why not take it a step further, and ask Mac Lovers - their ten most favorite apps. Forget, the Microsoft Office, or any of the applications that are bundled with an Apple. Instead, focus on small freeware and shareware applications that have helped you get the most out of your Mac.
… I present:
- iTerm
- What Terminal.app probably should have been. There are some problems, of course, but it’s indispensible for long-ish sessions of command-line work. Tabs and colors are just two of the biggest improvements.
- Path Finder
- “A Finder for grownups”, indeed. If iTerm is what Terminal should have been, this is the file manager’s equivalent. All sorts of Cocoa goodness and built-in features that would normally require Finder to perform gymnastics.
- Textwrangler
- I have a love-hate relationship with BBEdit’s free little brother, but I’ve never managed to ditch it entirely; I always end up coming back. Despite some weird UI choices, a steep learning curve, its lack of a skEdit- or Textmate-style project manager, it just has so much power. There are no shortage of text editors on the Mac—or even free text editors on the Mac—and I’ve tried many of them; I even like many of them. But nothing matches TW’s feature set; at least not for its price.
- Cocoalicious
- I probably would have stopped using del.icio.us a long time ago—much less use it as frequently as I do—if it weren’t for this great little app. I don’t know why using it is more comfortable, more intuitive, than using the web interface, but it just easier, but it just is.
- NetNewsWire Lite
- My newsreader of choice. I’ve tried other readers, but nothing (except, of course, the paid version) handles the scores of feeds I’m subscribed to as elegantly as this one does.
- Ulysses
- As far as I’m concerned, this is the app for serious writing. Some people have criticized some of the choices its creators have made (“No text styling? What?”), but I find that its single-minded focus on plain text eliminates the overwhelming majority of distraction that pull me away from focusing on the words themselves. Plus,fullscreen editing mode? Absolutely kicks ass.
- Ecto
- Blogging would be so sad without this app. Like Cocoalicious, something just clicked the first time I used it, and I loved it ever since.
- VoodooPad Lite
- Finally, a place for me to keep all the scraps of information, the half-cooked ideas, the brainstorming ideas rolling around in my head—and then link them together easily. Practicaly eliminated the yellow legal pads and Post-Its I used to scribble on overnight.
- Tomato Torrent
- The app that got me using BitTorrent. Lightweight with a gorgeous interface, it makes searching for and sharing files easy—and a pleasure. If only everything were this simple.
- YourSQL
- I don’t dabble with MySQL more than I have to, but this little app makes the experience as painless as possible when I do. Makes phpMyWebmin look like a joke.
Yeah—I’m mostly a text and code kinda girl. Though, honestly, I don’t know of that many small third-party image applications; plugins, of course, but no real applications. Anyone care to send some recommendations my way?