Black Holes and Snowy Mountains

Everyone has their own favorite list of applications. Here are some great applications for OS X that I find indispensable. This list, especially the free apps and those already included with Leopard, could also serve as a great starting point for a switcher just starting to find their way around.

1. BBEdit (Text editor)- An absolutely phenomenal text editor, the new version (9.1) is a huge improvement over previous versions when dealing with multiple files. It comes with all the features you’d expect from a powerful text editor, including syntax highlighting for almost every language you can thing of, built-in FTP, and regular expression matching. I’ve also found that BBEdit opens large files (10 megabytes and larger) faster than Textmate. $125 single user/$49 educational license.

2. AppCleaner (System utility)- This program removes all associated files with an application when removing that application. This includes preference files and any program files that may have been installed with the application. Free.

3. Transmit (FTP client)- In my opinion the best FTP client available. With a clean, intuitive interface serving as a front end for a bevy of features such as permissions editing, it manages to be user-friendly without sacrificing functionality. On top of that, Panic’s support team is first-class and has always responded to my inquiries quickly and helpfully. $29.95.

4. VLC (Media player)- Media player that plays pretty much everything. Fast, lightweight, and free.

5. Name Mangler (System utility)- Name Mangler is an amazing little piece of freeware that can be used to change file names quickly and easily. It’s a step above Automator’s built-in functions, and if the defaults aren’t enough you can write your own pseudo-scripts in Advanced mode to do what you want. A major shortcoming (in my opinion) is the inability to run sequences of scripts on the same batch of files… but Automator doesn’t do this either. If I’m wrong on this and someone knows how to do it, please enlighten me.

6. TeXshop (TeX editor)- Invented by Donald Knuth, TeX is a typesetting language designed to make it easier to print mathematical expressions. TeXshop provides a frontend for the language, with syntax highlighting, format macros, and a built-in compiler. You’ll need the LaTeX packages to use it- see Installing LaTeX on your Mac.

7. Image Capture (System utility)- Image capture is a very simple utility that allows transfer of your pictures from your camera to your computer. I prefer this method over iPhoto’s import feature mostly because it’s faster. Included with OS X.

8. Adium (IM client)- “The” instant messenging application for OS X, Adium can connect to nearly every major messaging service and allows users to customize almost every aspect of the application to their heart’s content. Free.

9. Firefox (web browser)- My browser of choice, mainly due to the interface and the wealth of add-ons available. NoScript and AdBlock are two plugins everyone should use. Free.

10. Caffeine (System utility)- I like my computer to be awake unless I close the lid. Caffeine, when on, prevents the monitor from sleeping by overriding the energy saver preferences. Free.

11. MAMP (System utility)- MAMP is a very handy tool for installing a local server environment on your Mac. I use it mainly to test out blog entries and site changes before posting them to my webserver to avoid wasting bandwidth. Free. Windows users try WAMP.

12. Cog (Media player)- While still in development (and probably will be for a long time), Cog is a fast, lightweight music player that, unlike iTunes, will play FLAC (along with a bevy of other formats). It is very bare-bones; rudimentary library management, no tag editing, and a spartan GUI. Free.

Got any favorite apps you’d like to share? Leave a comment!

Technorati Tags: Mac, Apple, OS X, Leopard, MAMP, Transmit, FTP, Cog, MP3, FLAC, Media, Firefox, Mozilla, Image Capture, Cog, TeXShop, LaTeX, VLC, Name Mangler, AppCleaner, BBEdit, Text editor, HTML, essential Mac Apps

Posted under: Apple, Technology by HP at 03/29/09 10:05 AM