My Favorite Apps for OS X
Posted on November 06, 2005 at 10:05 PM EST
Web Browser
Safari is the default web browser that ships with OS X and it is extremely powerful. There are many great browsers to choose from on OS X, but I usually end up going back and forth between this and Camino.
Font Management
My font manager of choice is FontAgent Pro. One feature that not only saves time but helps save some memory on your machine is font auto-activation. If an OS X application asks for a font, such as opening a PSD file, the font will be opened if it hasn’t already been activated. I have tried many different font management programs and this is by far the best. However, I’ve read a lot of good reviews about FontExplorerX and I’d like to try it out sometime.
FTP
Transmit takes FTP to the next level on OS X. It allows you to make server-to-server transfers, upload your files by draffing them to the dock, and allows you to set favorites that are similar to Safari. After I switched to using Macs three years ago, I tried out several different FTP clients. I’ve been very happy with it ever since and haven’t felt the need to try out any others.
News Reader
NewsFire is a nice and simple news reader that has a clean look to it. I previously used NetNewsWire as my default aggregator but I like how NewsFire isn’t as bloated and it also has a couple of nice features that NetNewsWire doesn’t have. It also supports Growl notifications so I can get a brief summary of new stories without having to click on Newsfire to read them.
Text Editor
Textmate is an inexpensive text editor that is packed with many different features that make a web developer happy. It supports many different scripting languages including XHTML, CSS, PHP, and even Ruby on Rails. I especially like the dynamic file outline that appears along the side of the main window.
Icon Customization
I like to change my icons around from time to time and by using CandyBar, it enables me to do this. If you’re tired of seeing the exact same icons on your screen all of the time, be sure to check it out then head on over to Pixelgirl to pick out some cool icon sets.
Screen Captures
If you ever need to take a full screen capture of an entire page Paparazzi! is your answer. Just enter the URL and save the image to a PNG file with the click of a button. It’s too bad the built-in screen capture utility for Mac doesn’t have the ability to do this.
Time Tracking
I keep track of the amount of time that I spend on all of my projects. Khronos is an effective project timer and best of all is free. It even has the ability to print invoices and export to various spreadsheet applications.
Wireframe Creation
A wireframe is a great way to visualize the architecture of a website before it is created to see how it is structured. MyMind is a utility that lets you build graphical representations of your site with ease.
Photo Management
iPhoto is excellent for managing photos that are taken on a digital camera. It automatically loads when a digital camera is plugged in and allows you to create separate libraries. If you have a Flickr account, then you have to be sure to use FlickrExport which enables you to upload your photos directly from iPhoto to Flickr.
Notes
Sidenote is an advanced note taking utility which is designed to be available whenever you need it. Just move your mouse to the side of the screen and it instantly appears. This comes in handy when having to make a quick note about something then you can always read it later by moving your mouse or you can tack it on the screen so it won’t disappear.
Netflix Rentals
Netflix Freak has a very clean look and enables you to completely manage your Netflix account directly through the application. No more having to click on lots of pages the find the movie you want or modify your queue. If you subscribe to Netflix this is a definate must have.
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Tagged with apple, osx, software
Thoughts on Tiger
Posted on May 04, 2005 at 11:25 PM EST
I finally got around to upgrading both of my Macs to Tiger. The PowerBook was updated on Friday and the iMac was done yesterday afternoon. It only took about 30 minutes to install and everything went nice and smooth.
Spotlight
Although, it’s really nice to be able to instantly search files wherever they may be on your computer (separate partitions, external hard drives, etc.), it is not as fast as I thought it would be after all of the marketing hype that I read about it. Spotlight includes a feature called Smart Folders, which contain files grouped together based on search criteria instead of physical location. If you wanted to keep track of all Photoshop PSD files, you can simply create a Smart Folder that will search for this type of file and they will instantly appear after clicking the folder.
Automator
Automator is great for repetitive tasks such as moving specific types of files around, renaming files/folders, scaling images, etc. Rather than having to do this manually like in the past, this will definitely help save me a lot of time in the future.
Dashboard
Dashboard is pretty cool and has some nice animation and effects. One thing that bugs me about it is that it doesn’t have an option to turn each widget on/off so it is permanently displayed on the desktop. Currently, you have to click the Dashboard icon to make them all appear then they all disappear when another application is selected. You can hold down F12 and drag a widget out onto the desktop, but you have to do this each time you click on the main Dashboard icon which is a pain and you can only select one widget. Here’s a list of my favorites:
- Weather - Displays your local weather conditions and forecast for the next six days.
- Unit Converter - Converts units such as currency, temperature, time, weight, length, etc.
- Package Tracker - Track packages that are sent via FedEx or UPS.
- Hula Girl - Adds some good fun to your desktop.
- Translation - Translates 13 different languages.
- Dictionary/Thesaurus - Looks up word definitions and synonyms.
Preview
Preview now offers enhanced PDF abilities, screenshot options, and saves screen captures as PNG files instead of PDFs. It also offers support for RAW camera images which is great for viewing photos that are taken from my Canon Digital Rebel XT.
Safari RSS
Safari is definitely a lot faster than it was in Panther. One of the biggest new features in it is support for RSS. This is one feature that I don’t particularly find useful since I use NetNewsWire as my news reader.
I like that it finally has an option to import/export bookmarks under the File menu. In previous versions of Safari, a separate application had to be installed in order to copy or backup your bookmarkes, unless you went into the Library folder and copied the files. I also like the option to be able to save a page as a Web Archive which will save the entire page, complete with images and links in case you would like to save it for offline viewing or save an older version of a webpage.
Default Icons
Cage Fighter Icons
The first thing I noticed after launching Mail for the first time was the tiny, hideous buttons for the mail controls. Luckily, someone created a tiny application called Cage Fighter that will remove the ugly backgrounds and just display the plain icons. One big improvement from the search functions that were in previous versions is Spotlight and also the ability to create Smart Mailboxes.
Overall Thoughts
Many of the new features that are included will help speed up the amount of time that it takes to get things done which is certainly a big plus in my book. There are also hundreds of small improvements everywhere you look that really make a noticeable difference from Panther.
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Tagged with apple, osx, review
Goodbye Panther - Hello Tiger!
Posted on April 29, 2005 at 02:41 PM EST
Tiger just arrived and I am about to begin the upgrade process on both my iMac and PowerBook. Earlier this morning I made some backups of all of my important files as I’m going to select the option to do a clean install to give it a fresh start. I will post an update once everything has been completed and I’ve given it some good tests.
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Tagged with apple, osx, software
Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger
Posted on April 15, 2005 at 12:39 PM EST
Apple announced the other day that the release date for Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger will be on April 29th. They just added a page on their site that lists over 200 new features that are included. WoW! Here’s a couple that I am really looking forward to:
- Spotlight - A new desktop search technology that finds anything (files, emails, contacts, images, movies, songs, calendars and applications, etc.) on your computer as fast as you can type. No more waiting and waiting when performing searches!
- Dashboard - Similar to Konfabulator which enables you to have nifty new mini-applications called widgets so you can quickly view stock prices, local weather, lookup numbers with the phone book, etc.
- Automater - An innovative personal automation assistant that helps you streamline repetitive manual tasks without programming such as renaming files or folders or attach files to multiple emails and automatically send them out.
Even though it isn’t due out for another two weeks, it is already the #1 seller on Amazon.com’s Software Top Seller List. They are currently offering free shipping and a mail-in rebate for the $129.99 Tiger retail box which brings the final cost down to only $94.99. I went ahead and pre-ordered it and cannot wait for it to get here!
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