My 2007 Mac App List

I switch to Mac’s over three years ago and haven’t looked back. I don’t even own a PC that runs Windows now. During this period I’ve collected certain Mac applications and tools that I use regularly.¬† I thought it might be interesting to share what I’ve found useful and hopefully get some input on what you’ve found.¬† Perhaps we’ll see some gems we’ve been missing.

This is not a complete list. For instance I have a copy of Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac that I use on occasion.¬† Most often it used when I’m dealing with someone on a Windows PC and want to maintain compatibility or if I need a spreadsheet I will use Excel.¬† There’s also applications like the Apple iLife Suite that came with my Mac as well as Apple Mail and Safari.

I’ve broken these selected applications down into functional categories and have linked each application to it home site.

Note: Some of these tools are free and some of them were purchased over the three year period.

Meandering Passage 2007 Mac App List:

Writing/Editing/Drawing Tools:

Nisus Writer Express:¬† I’ve found Nisus Writer Express to be a very capable and easy to use writing tool.¬† It’s not got all the bells and whistles of Microsoft Word but I’ve found that when using Nisus Writer Express I tend to focus more on the writing and less on the software.¬† That’s not to say that it’s not feature rich, because it is. It opens Microsoft Word and WordPerfect files and uses RTF as it’s native file format which can be read by almost any word processor.¬† It also has a full screen mode to get rid of all distractions while you write.¬† They have also just released a “Pro” version if you require more.

Smultron:¬† Smultron is a FREE open source (sourceforge) programming text editor for the Mac that I’ve found myself using regularly¬† It has all the basic functions of a good text editor plus support for different languages.¬† I like it for it’s simplicity.¬† There again you can focus on the text and not the software.

CSSEdit:  If you need to create or maintain CSS files then this is the best tool I know of with a great GUI that makes editing CSS a pleasure.  I use it regularly and would not want to be without it.

OmniGraffle Professional:¬† Anytime I need a technical drawing or diagram I turn to OmniGraffle.¬† It’s easy to use while having lots of features and power.¬† I especially prize it’s layers feature which allows you to build and display complex diagrams one part at a time.

iTaskX:¬† I’ve been know to do a little project management and my current tool of choice for the Mac is iTaskX.¬† It’s extremely powerful with the nice Mac feel and look.

Information Management Tools:

NovaMind:¬† NovaMind is a mind-mapping and presentation tool.¬† It allows you to capture you brain-strorming ideas in a graphical representation. It encourages creativity and structured thinking.¬† There’s also a screenwriters module available.

DEVONthink Office Pro: DEVONthink is my work horse for research and information storage.  In IT terms I would call it my data warehouse where I accumulate information from various sources.  Using DEVONthinks unique searches and AI tools I can find or discover related subjects.  I often find relationships I was unaware of.

DEVONagent:¬† I use DEVONagent to perform Internet research.¬† It’s unique abilities to search and rank sites and pages often saves me time and effort.¬† It also interfaces with DEVONthink to make saving wanted information effortless.

Tinderbox:¬† Tinderbox is probably one of the more “interesting” applications I own.¬† It’s a great note/idea capture tool, but it goes so far beyond that. It can display recorded information in map, chart, outline, tree map, explorer and Nakakoji views.¬† It’s also a writing tool and is even used by some to write and publish their blogs.¬† It’s another application that I feel I only scratch the surface of.¬† So much to know so little time to learn.

Yojimbo:  Yojimbo is my media catch all keep basket.  Anything that I want to keep I toss into Yojimbo.  Then later when there is time and clear thought I can either tag and leave it in Yojimbo or move it on to a permanent storage such as DEVONthink.

Media Tools:

VueScan:¬† If you’ve got a scanner that’s supported by VueScan then you’ll want this one.¬† Lots of features and easy to use with near perfect scans each time.¬† I have an Epson 4870 Photo scanner and VueScan makes the scanning process fast and easy without a huge application footprint.

Combine PDF’s:¬† I have a flatbed scanner that I use to scan multi-page documents for emailing to other parties.¬† I usually scan these into PDF files for size and convenience reasons.¬† Instead of sending each of these pages as separate files I use Combine PDFs to recombine them into a single multi-page PDF file.¬† Great tool and it’s FREE.

Photoshop CS2:¬† There are a lot of capable and cheaper photo editing tools out there.¬† But I keep coming back to this powerhouse.¬† It’s as close as a standard for photo editing as you can get.

ImageWell:  A great little swiss army knife image utility. Screen snapshots, resizing images, editing, watermarks, etc.  A great tool if you have a blog and sometimes need to make adjustments on images.

GraphicConverter:¬† There’s been times when I’ve run into images that nothing else would open.¬† GraphicConverter can handle almost any image format there is.¬† I keep it handy when I need to bring in the heavy duty image tools.

Flip4Mac:  Allows you to view WMV files in the Quicktime view.  Can be downloaded from Microsoft as a replacement for their defunct Windows media player for mac.

Audacity:  A strong feature rich audio capture and editing applicaiton via a FREE open source (sourceforge) project. 

OS Enhancement Tools:

Path Finder:  I would not want to do without this one.  Path Finder is a vastly improved Finder.  It has tons of features that makes navigation of OS X fun.  I wish Apple would buy this and build it into OS X.  Did you hear me Apple?

Default Folder X:  Among other things, makes each application have a default folder or location for documents.  No more selection each time you want to save something.  Very convenient.  Those moments saved add up.

Quicksilver:¬† Talk about moments saved.¬† I’ve gotten spoiled calling up application with just a couple of keystrokes.¬† Plus there other features galore.¬† I’ve just been scraping the surface of what Quicksilver can do but already it invaluable to me.

Internet Tools:

1Passwd:  This is a great password manager and form filler.  It integrates into Safari, OmniWeb, DEVONagent, Firefox, Camino, and Flock as well as the OS X Keychain. It can even generate secure passwords for you if you wish.  A great little utility for those of use who have trouble remembering.

Camino:¬† I use Camino as my main web browser over Safari for one reason. My blog site’s admin does not support Safari. That’s not to say that Camino isn’t a good browser on it’s own. It has the look and feel of a native Mac application with many of the features of Firefox.¬† It’s also FREE.

NetNewsWire:¬† This is my main RSS feed reader.¬† It’s smart watches and other sort and search tools make it much easier to keep track of 100’s of news feeds.¬† One of the best for OS X in my opinion.

Ecto2:¬† I use Ecto for off-line writing, editing, and posting to this blog.¬† It’s a great little tool that allows you to keep copies of you on-line posts off-line as a back-up.

Speed Download: This is a download application that uses multi-instances to download files.  It also has the ability to stop and restart downloads or to re-download. It does seem to be faster then a normal http download.

Transmission:  A simple bit torrent client that does the job.  There are many of them out there but this is the one I use when I really need one.  Good features.

Transmit:  A great FTP client that has a real Mac look and feel.  OS X has FTP capabilities built in but this is much easier.  it also has many other great features.

Network/Communication Tools:

Chicken of the VNC:¬† In my work I sometimes have the need for a VNC client to remotely control a server or computer. This application is stable and featured ladened and best of all it’s FREE.

FrameSeer:  A nice little ethernet packet sniffer for the Mac for those that sometimes need to do some network administration.  It has a nice point-to-point graphing capability as well.

Backup/Utility Tools:

SuperDuper:¬† My application of choice for all my backups.¬† I do regular backups to either a external drive or to a raid protected SAN.¬† The smart back feature gives me current exact copies with accumulating a lot of obsolete files that take up space.¬† It works and is easy to use.¬† You’ll notice that same theme on many of my application selections.

Drive Genius:  Need to check the status of a Mac hard drive or perform a emergency rescue?  Drive Genius has all the tools and works safely.

Applejack:¬† Applejack is a FREE open source utility that you run after booting into single user mode.¬† It’s fixed a number of nagging little problems for me.

Other:

Google Earth:¬† If you want to kill a bunch of time and possible learn something in the process then Google Earth is the way to go.¬† It allows you to explore from above all the places on earth you’ve been and all those places you’d like to go. It’s FREE.

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