Software Recommendations
These are some of my personal "must-have" software recommendations. Keep in mind that these are the programs I use and like; you may disagree or have other favorites.
Mac OS X
Find Mac OS X apps at Version Tracker. Track your favorites at ihref="Iusethis.com">Iusethis.com.
Productivity Applications
I run these all day, every day.-
Adium (adiumx.com)
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The best chat / IM client. Handles AIM, Yahoo! IM, Jabber, MSN, and much more. Also skinable. If you use IM, get Adium. - BBEdit
(barebones.com/products/bbedit.html)
In my opinion, BBEdit is the best Mac OS text editor (with excellent tech support too. :-) I ese BBEdit for writing/editing code, especially Perl or HTML.
Alternatively, consider TextMate (described below). -
DragThing (www.dragthing.com/)
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We use DragThing as a launcher for our regularly used apps and folders. I've turned off the Finder Desktop and, instead , use DragThing to present only those folders I Want to see. - Eudora (www.eudora.com/)
One of the best email programs around (imo).Eudora is no longer supported by QualComm but is being rewritten to use the Mozilla Engine.
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NoteBook (www.circusponies.com)
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Circus Ponies NoteBook is a data manager with the look and feel of a 23rd century notepad. Looks like paper but it's reconfigurable. I love it. Responsive developer and excellent support. Download the demo. Read my review. -
PathFinder (www.cocoatech.com)
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A Finder replacement must-have-app. Download it. Run it. -
Yahoo! Widget Engine (widgets.yahoo.com/)
This used to be called Konfabulator and I wish they had kept the name.
Widgets put tiny applications on your desktop. I run Weather, clocks,
stiickies, this month's calendar, a list of today's meetings, and a simple
alarm engine, and a changing picture frame. There are zillions of widgets
to choose from.
("Wait. You mean you're running Mac OS X and you don't use Dashboard?"
Exactly. I don't like Dashboard. Feel free to send me email and I'll tell you why not.)
Useful Applications
If you have the specific need these meet, they are invaluable.- Colloquy
(ohttp://colloquy.info/)
If you use IRC on a Mac, you should use Colloquy. Clean, easy to use, skinnable. As one of the testimonials on the site proclaims, "the best IRC client for OS X." - ecto (ecto.kung-foo.tv/)
If you keep a weblog, use this as your offline editor. It's the best.
Now also available for Windoze. There's a nice review (not by me) here. - Graphic Convertor (www.graphic-converter.net//)
This is the only app most people will need for image modification: Trim, convert, scale, change resolution, export, edit, even search and replace on individual colors. It's not PhotoShop (but it's also cheaper and has a much easier learrning curve!) - TextMate (macromates.com/)
Rich uses TextMate as his editor of choice. If you're working with Ruby code, anything that uses a lot of files in multiple directories, or just have different "taste", you may prefer TextMate. - TwitterPost (railheaddesign.com/index.php/software/twitterpost/)
I like this a lot better than some of the other Twitter reader posters available. The interface is simple and elegant. Sadly, the author is abandoning his software projects. YMMV. :-(
Enhancements / Extensions
- DefaultFolderX (www.stclairsoft.com/DefaultFolderX/release.htm)
If the Mac OS X Open and Save dialogs annoy and confuse you, this System Preference is one you will treasure. Just for example, DefaultFolderX actually lists the currently open Finder windows... and gives you easy access to them. What a concept :-)
(Pricey... but for those who _really_ want this, it's well worth it, and very cleanly done. I wouldn't be without it.). - iClock
(www.scriptsoftware.com/iclock/iclockmac.php
Improve your menu bar clock. Set the font, color. Show the date and time simultaneously. Includes a nice calendar, a small to-do list, alarms, world calendars... Try it!. - TinkerTool (www.bresink.de/osx/)
Set arrows at both ends of the scroll bar (up & down at both ends); reset the dock to start at the left margin instead of centered, set default screenshot format (I prefer jpeg), ... more. - WindowshadeX (www.unsanity.com/haxies/)
Listen up, Apple, I liked windowshade. This System Preference panel provides a choice of windowshading, send to dock, hide, or make transparent. Give some of their other software a try too...Not yet available for Leopard :-(
For Fun
- Eyeballs (www.sticksoftware.com)
I've had eyeballs in my menu bar since Mac OS 7, I think. This version allows many weird customizations. - Desktop images (www.blueskyheart.com)
My all-time favorites. I love Layne's work. Free samples and relatively inexpensive sets.
Palm OS
Find Palm apps at Palm Gear- Jot (aka Graffiti 2)
Jot is a handwriting recognizer; I purchased Jot concurrent with my Palm III in 1998. In Palm OS 4 and 5, the basics of Jot can be found in what Palm calls "Graffiti 2". - Commander (www.palmation.com)
There are three versions of this app; I use Commander Lite. Mostly I use it to ensure that my name and contact information are prominently displayed when my PDA is started after 10 minutes of inactivity. (Why something like this isn't in the base OS I can't imagine). - Slap (www.handshigh.com)
Slap is incredibly convenient. Jot a few words or sentences in one place, then send them to the ToDo list, memo pad, date book... I mostly use this as an always-available mini notepad. - Silver Screen (www.pocketsensei.com)
This is my current favorite Launcher. It's cool. For me, it's even better paired with the "OS X Mania" theme :-) - List Pro (www.iliumsoft.com)
I'm constantly looking for the best list manager. I think I've finally found it in ListPro. - Pocket Library (www.causticmango.com)
This is a simple (and free) solution for keeping track of books (and videos, CDs, what-have-you). - TipMe
A tip calculator with enough features to be more useful than a pen and paper ;-) - CanDo
A front-end to the built-in ToDo list database - I like this because I can hide the Priorities. - DayNotez (www.natara.com)
A date-based journal application with multiple views. - Event Tracker
When did you last pick up the mail from your Post Office box? When did you last call your mother? Track these occasional events in Event Tracker. - Splash Shopper (www.splashdata.com)
This is one of many choices of "shopping list applications, with a saved "All" data base. The reason I prefer Splash Shopper is because it's backed by a Mac OS X desktop application as well!I also recommend Splash ID and Splash Photo, for similar reasons.
- TealPhone (www.tealpoint.com)
This is an alternative interface to the built-in address book database.While you're at Teal Point's web site, take a look at some of their other offerings. I especially like Teal Launch, an extension that allows me more choice in remapping the hard and soft buttons on my PDA.
- NeoCal (http://www.hudren.com)
An alternative calculator with many options. Actually, this is several calculators in one application: Scientific, Programmer's, Finacial, Statistics... and a customizable "User's" version where you can control some of the buttons. Very nice indeed.