26
May
OS X Essentials
Posted 1:17 am
Over the past few days I’ve been filling my new MacBook with my standard run of OS X applications. Most run natively as universal binaries and thankfully the few requiring emulation don’t take the performance hit I was expecting. I’ve assembled a list of my favorites. So what did I miss?
Note: I’ve omitted many obvious necessities such as Microsoft Office and the Adobe/Macromedia Suite - I’d rather showcase smaller applications that I find myself using daily/weekly rather than the behemoths we all love to hate
TextMate
A solid text editor. I used to be a SubEthaEdit addict, but I’ve changed my allegiance recently.
NetNewsWire
The gold standard for feed readers
Adium
The skinning features in this AIM client rock. Check out the Decay theme. To preserve your sanity remove the duck quacking sounds ASAP.
VLC
The only media player I need. Make sure you get the Intel version (it’s not universal)
CyberDuck
The best SFTP/FTP client I’ve ever used
FinkCommander
Easy to use front-end for Fink
CocoaMySQL
Life-saving MySQL management tool
Growl
Notification system that integrates with a ton of apps.
Gmail Notifier
Google’s status bar icon for Gmail
Gmail+Growl
Growl plugin that notifies me when I get new Gmail.
A solid text editor. I used to be a SubEthaEdit addict, but I’ve changed my allegiance recently.
NetNewsWire
The gold standard for feed readers
Adium
The skinning features in this AIM client rock. Check out the Decay theme. To preserve your sanity remove the duck quacking sounds ASAP.
VLC
The only media player I need. Make sure you get the Intel version (it’s not universal)
CyberDuck
The best SFTP/FTP client I’ve ever used
FinkCommander
Easy to use front-end for Fink
CocoaMySQL
Life-saving MySQL management tool
Growl
Notification system that integrates with a ton of apps.
Gmail Notifier
Google’s status bar icon for Gmail
Gmail+Growl
Growl plugin that notifies me when I get new Gmail.
Album Cover Finder
Simple application that finds and links album art to your iTunes library (PPC Only)
CoverFlow
Awesome front-end for viewing album art.
Audacity
Free, easy-to-use audio editor
FontExplorer X
Powerful font management for free
HandBrake
Easiest DVD ripping tool ever
Skype
Free phone calls!
MAMP
Run a virtual server in two clicks - awesome.
Firefox
With the web developer toolbar, Firefox is your best friend when building a site
Shiira
Great browser for testing pages for WebKit compatibility
X11
Make sure you install this one off the Tiger DVD.
TinkerTool
Hidden Preferences (allows you to kill those annoying .DS_Store files!)
Simple application that finds and links album art to your iTunes library (PPC Only)
CoverFlow
Awesome front-end for viewing album art.
Audacity
Free, easy-to-use audio editor
FontExplorer X
Powerful font management for free
HandBrake
Easiest DVD ripping tool ever
Skype
Free phone calls!
MAMP
Run a virtual server in two clicks - awesome.
Firefox
With the web developer toolbar, Firefox is your best friend when building a site
Shiira
Great browser for testing pages for WebKit compatibility
X11
Make sure you install this one off the Tiger DVD.
TinkerTool
Hidden Preferences (allows you to kill those annoying .DS_Store files!)
Posted under Software.
You don’t like OSX Font Book?
Font Book isn’t bad, but I like the preview in FontExplorer much better. Its much easier to type out a headline and try out multiple different faces in FontExplorer IMO.
How could you forget Quicksilver? Since I discovered it, my love for my machine has increased tenfold.
http://quicksilver.blacktree.com/
MySQL offers it’s own Mac applications for managing your database:
MySQL Administrator & MySQL Query Browser.. personally I far more like them than CocoaMySQL.
XRay
ClamXav
Xyle scope
Delocaliser (on my ibook, small hdd)
Proteus, prefer a small terrier to the qucking duck… lol
Camino
Otherwise your list is pretty much my list
Launchbar
How could you choose Cyberduck over Transmit?!
Andre - Freeware. Comparably, Trasmit doesn’t add much for the price, in my opinion. Awesome collection, might I suggest the free Onyx? A great cleaning & maintenence tool, which also includes TinkerTool goodies.