10 Mac OSX Apps I Could Not Live Without
Posted May 11th, 2008 | 12 Comments
I know these lists have been done many times before. In fact, a lot of the apps on this list I picked up from lists just like this one. So they can be useful, even if there is only 1 app on here that you have never tried it’s worth it.
There are plenty of others that I could have chosen but I wanted to stick to 10. I tried to steer clear of Apples own apps like Mail and iTunes and also other obvious choices like Office and Photoshop.
If you have your own suggestions please leave them in the comments!
1. Quicksilver
Quicksilver: The first thing I do when I get a new Mac or reinstall OSX is set up Quicksilver. I’m sure there can’t be many people who don’t know about it but if you’re one of the few, Quicksilver is the ultimate extension to OSX and particularly Spotlight.
At it’s most basic level it’s a very fast application launcher. I never use my applications folder or even the dock. Any application is just a couple of keystrokes away.
However it does so much more as well. There are extensions available for a whole number of Mac apps which allow tasks and processes to be completed from within Quicksilvers interface (again with just a few keystrokes) rather than the apps themselves. I use it in conjunction with Mail, Yojimbo & iTunes the most.
2. Yojimbo
Yojimbo: There are a number of apps that do a similar job as Yojimbo, I’ve tried them all and Yojimbo is the best for me. It’s basically a storage system for all kinds of information, files and pictures.
Any information can be organised into folders, tagged and there is excellent search functions. I use it to store ideas for future websites and blog posts, bits of code, shopping lists etc… It’s also capable of storing pdf files, bookmarks and even entire archive copies of websites. Another very useful feature is it’s ability to store passwords securely. I have all of my Mac and internet passwords saved there as well as credit card and bank details. It syncs between all of my Macs via .mac too!
The following 3 apps are so small and neat that I sometimes forget they are apps and not part of OSX itself. I use them countless times every day and it’s only when I reinstall OSX that I realise I how much I miss them.
3. MagiCal
MagiCal: Not much to say about Magical except it is incredibly small but incredibly useful. It’s first use is to put the date in the menu bar which OSX is still lacking for some reason. Clicking the date brings up a neat little calendar of the current month and can cycle forwards and backwards.
4. Growl
Growl: Again this is an app that works in the background almost unnoticed but I really miss it when it’s not there. It simply acts as a notification system within OSX. A small alert appears in the top right hand corner of the screen when events occur in other apps. Such as when email is received or downloads are completed.It doesn’t sound like much but once you get used to it being there you begin to rely on it.
An extra that comes with Growl is GrowlTunes which works in exactly the same way but for iTunes. It displays the track and artist information when a new song starts.
5. Default Folder X
Default Folder X: This is an app I really could not live without. I never thought anything bad about the way OSX handles opening and saving files until I tried this and saw how much better it is.
Basically it attaches to the right side of any Open or Save windows and adds several ways of locating files or folders. For example you can select ‘Favourite Folders’ which are always immediately available or you can chose the last saved folder. You can rename or move files to the trash directly in the save window.
One of it’s best background features is that it will take you back to the last file you were working on. Incredibly useful and I’ve no idea why OSX doesn’t do it.
6. Things
Things: I have tried several of the task management products available for the Mac. I thought I had settled on the best with OmniFocus but then Things came along and is my productivity app of choice at the moment.
Most of these programs follow David Allens ‘Getting Things Done’ system. Which is great as I have read the book and am a fan. Things however isn’t strictly a GTD app but it has an advanced tagging system which allows it to work as a GTD app but is actually a lot more powerful. It’s repeat tasks feature is particularly useful.It looks great, is easy to use and has been very reliable for me so far. It took a lot to get me to switch from OmniFocus. It is just missing some sync features at the moment, once they are implemented it will be the killer task management app.
7. Transmission
Transmission: Another of those apps that doesn’t need much talking about. It’s just a torrent client. But it does it’s job very well. It’s tiny, it’s lightweight, it is simple and clean and just works.
8. Transmit
Transmit: Similar to Transmission though not made by the same company and this time for FTP rather than Torrents. Again it just does it’s job well and is small and lightweight. There is also a widget that allows you to FTP files without launching the app itself.
9. Ecto
Ecto: This app solves many problems associated with WordPress blogs.
Don’t get me wrong, I love WordPress but there are issues, some not it’s own fault. One that is though is the WP text editor which I have never been comfortable with using.Using Ecto means you never have to see the web text editor again! All posting and editing is done from within the app. This is great as the editor is a huge improvement but it also solves another problem.
As it’s a desktop application you can write and edit blog posts offline, even without an internet connection and then simply publish them when you are next online.If you have multiple blogs you can update them all from within Ecto!
10. VMWare Fusion
VMWare Fusion: As much as I love OSX and this list proves how great the software is for it. There are times when I need to run big bad Windows. Actually it’s pretty much every day as unfortunately I have to test all of my website designs in Internet Explorer.I have Boot Camp installed which works great, it runs Windows better than my last PC did.
However you have to reboot each time you want to switch between Windows and OSX which is frustrating an time consuming. Fusion allows you to run a virtual Windows installation from within OSX! Not only that but you can run Windows apps and Mac apps and switch between them, you can even minimize Windows apps to your Dock! Perfect for website testing!
Dan
12.05.08
You can put the date in the menu bar with OS X settings. Check out how to add Date Display in the Menubar by adjusting system preferences.
Shaun
12.05.08
I did find it strange that it couldn’t be done in OSX. I thought there must be a way but couldn’t find how to do it.
I still think MagiCal is useful for it’s popup calender but your tip is great for people not needing that.
Thanks for the info!
Dot Design
16.05.08
Hi Shaun, I’m ashamed to say that before your article I hadn’t heard of any of these, so thanks for bringing them to my attention! Going to download the MagiCal application and take a good look through the others, very useful and some should really help with my workflow. Cheers! Gareth
Shaun
17.05.08
Wow, i’m surprised to hear that!
How long have you been using a Mac for?
I thought EVERYBODY knew about Quicksilver at least!
I hope you enjoy checking them out then :)
Thanks for the comment and thanks again for alerting me of the problem, who knows how long it would have been before I noticed!
I love the logo on your site btw!
Steve
22.05.08
Hi Shaun - great list of apps. I have used about half of them but will look at the others! One app I could not do without is SuperDuper (http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html) which is an excellant bacup solution which allows you to create bootabel backups on other drive. You can also schedule regular ’smart updates’ which only update the files that have been added or changed since the last backup - this normally only takes a few minutes.
I once had a nightmare with one of our macs dying and without this I would have lost a months worth of work!!
Steve
Shaun
23.05.08
Thanks for the comment Steve,
Your right about Super Duper. It has saved my life a few times.
It’s not as sexy as some of these programs but it’s arguably much more important!
Szabi
25.05.08
Hi Shaun!
Great list, thanks for sharing it. I have used a few of them before but will definitely check out the others. Especially looking forward to try Things.
kristarella
27.05.08
Yup, love Quicksilver. Things looks cool. I thought I wouldn’t want to try it since it will cost money soon, but maybe I will, I recently deleted iGTD because I just wasn’t using it.
I use Cyberduck for http://FTP. It’s good and free, I think you can get a widget for it too.
Actually hadn’t heard of most of the rest. I tried one desktop blogging thing, but I didn’t like it. I actually quite like using the code editor. I like feeling like I have control over my post layout.
kristarella
27.05.08
Hmm, I don’t think I wrote “http://FTP” that’s weird
Shaun
27.05.08
Hey Kristarella!
Thanks for the comments, i’ve no idea what happened with the http://FTP thing if you didn’t type it!
Things is really great for me but I know other people that can’t work with computer task management systems, I think it’s just what suits individuals best.
You make a really good point regarding the cost of these programs. I was fortunate to be employed when I switched to Mac and a lot of these app I charged to expenses. Now that I work for myself I think I will be much more likely to check out free versions before I pay.
Matt
03.07.08
Yummy FTP is better than Transmit. Way better.
You have to try it out.
Shaun
13.07.08
Thanks for the comment Matt.
I have tried Yummy now and it is indeed very good!
It’s also the first Mac FTP App I have seen which supports FXP which I’m very happy about!
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