Apple Must-Have Software for your Mac

you had to do it...we've all suffered through windows at some point and I for one never want to do it again. the damn virus checker takes longer to load than 10.6!


xbmc-home theater program that makes HD video run smooth on my machine when VLC won't! don't ask me to explain i have no idea why...but its awesome, especially with a remote.

 

I try to keep a Windows 7 desktop and a Macbook in sync, so life was made a lot easier by Synkron, which is free, installable on both Windows and OS-X, and can keep USB keys and other removable media files linked.

 

So far (1-day old MBP):
Opera
TextWrangler
CODA Trial

 

Having used it for a few weeks now:
Adobe Photoshop CS4
Fireworks CS4
Flash CS4
CODA
Opera
Firefox
Quicksilver
MAMP

Guess it shows what i use the thing for.

 

http://www.sofortbildapp.com/

For shooting Nikon tethered.

 

VisualHub is a powerful video conversion tool.

 

Dropbox - Allows you to sync your files between unlimited computers (Mac, PC, Linux)
SizeUp - Gives me the Cmd+right/left window resize hotkeys I love in Win7
Scrivener - The damn best writing application the world has ever seen.
Firefox - So you don't have to use Safari !

 

Help pls!

I am looking for a free way to import a dvd (wmv format) to my macbook so i can cut it and upload it to Facebook....this is the first and probably last time i'll do this so i realllly don't wanna pay for something....can anyone help?

 

Handbrake seems to be the best one I can find out about. What was the problem you had with it?

(For anyone else who isn't sure what's going on, I know this poster )

 

VLC - Defacto media player for any platform
Firefox - Better than Safari
Office 2008 - Have to do some work sometimes
Microsoft Messenger - Chat compatibility, its simple
Remote Desktop Connection - Connect to work
Handbrake - Great for roaming media without disks
Spotify - Music collection without having to rip loads of media
OpenOffice - Compatibility with documents with other free users

 

Instead of MS Messenger, try Adium. It integrates to MSN, GTalk, AIM, YIM and some more. And it works well

 

Does it work with video calls?

 

Not sure about that one. I only installed it last night at home. And there I use Skype for video calls.

 

Xee - (free) excellent light weight image viewer
PS3 Media Server - (free) for streaming video to PS3s
Plex Media Center - (free) much much better than Front Row
Transmission - (free) excellent bit torrent client
The Unarchiver - (free) file uncompression utility
Open Office (free)
BowTie - (free) for iTunes currently playing track, with ratings and album art

 

Just started using AppFresh which I have found quite handy.

http://www.macworld.co.uk/macsoftware/reviews/index.cfm?reviewid=3232627&pagtype=allchandate

Also since I first got my mac I have swapped Firefox for Chrome and added Adium to my portfolio of IM programs.

 

http://www.osirix-viewer.com/Downloads.html

Osirix, open source viewer for medical images in the DICOM format, common to MRIs, CAT scans and Digitial Xrays.

 

AppZapper,
Cyberduck,
FlickrGet,
and Transmission

 

AppZapper looks good, take it it actually works?

Might be going on my machine that one, is there a program similar to CClearner that anyone knows for cleaning up the rubbish left from a couple of uninstalls?

 

Oh I have so been preparing for this thread:


Good Mac Applications:

Bean - A good, quick, and lightweight text editor that gives Pages and even Microsoft Word a run for its money.

Spotify - Probably the best song streaming application around anywhere, simply type in a song and then away you go.

Handbrake - The number one tool for video encoding and DVD ripping, it makes life so much simpler when it comes to saving those DVD’s for PSP or iOS viewing.

Remote Desktop Connection - A viewer for Windows Remote sessions, good enough for everyday use and has the added bonus that you can mount a specific drive or file on the computer you are connecting to.

Ventrilo - A server based Speech client that is mainly used by gamers, for gamers.

Teamspeak - Similar to Ventrilo and using either is really a personal preference, why not use both?

1Password - A neat and fun way to keep all of your passwords and logins in one place, very secure and also builds itself right in to some web browsers.

Safari - A good all round browser with special emphasis on support for HTML5, also features extensions.

Fluid - A neat little program that turns your favourite programs in to stand alone applications, can even turn them into menu bar based applications.

Opera - Supposedly the fastest browser around, features built in Email, RSS, IRC etc. Functionality and is your one stop shop for anything internet based.

Onyx - A neat little tool that makes maintaining your computer easy and friendly, just a few clicks and everything is as good as new.

Caffeine - A menu bar based application that is so simple it’s stupid, this tiny application just keeps your computer awake, that’s all.

AppCleaner - Lightweight application that deletes all of those Misc. files that get left behind when you uninstall an application, a great space saver.

Litelcon - Bored of those same icons on your Dock? Change them with this app, and all the other icons on your system at the same time.

Steam - Gaming on the Mac has never been this easy, pick a game, download it, play it.

VLC - Bored of Quicktime telling you that a specific format cannot be played? VLC is an easy way to solve that problem, it plays back most formats under the sun.

CapSee - Gives you a visual representation when you press the Caps Lock key and it activates.

Wine Bottler - Creates stand alone Mac applications from Windows software by wrapping them.

MacTheRipper - For ripping DVD’s easily on a Mac.

TotalFinder - Adds tabs and more to the Mac finder.

Tweetie - Possibly the best Mac Twitter app and well worth a look if you like twitter.

Applejack - Good command line utility for cleaning up your mac.

 

The main software I use on my MacBook and wouldn't want to be without is:

1) xCode
2) Opera
3) Open Office
4) Handbrake
5) Pokerstars