OS X Software List (freeware)

Vienna is a great RSS reader.

It doesn't seem to be updated anymore, but it works great. The website has disappeared too, so the link above is to Apple's software download library.

 

Just thought I'd bring this to the top. I'm sure the new guys would love to see it, as well as there being new stuff to add.

 

Yes, and it makes us older guys realize that they need to follow through with their promise to review software.

I looked at my advice for software and realize I have changed my mind about Quicksilver vs. Butler (vs. Spotlight), don't use Meteo anymore due to it slowing my startup and wake from sleep, and Google Browser Sync no longer exists - LOL.

So, to correct that, here are my NEW recommendations to Mac newbies:

Oynx - a nifty, scary tool for controlling parts of the Mac that Apple may not want you to be able to. If you are running Leopard, it include an easy way to make the menu bar opaque (either gray or white background), includes a one-stop place to run system maintainence, and tweaks to the OS (for me that means turning off Spotlight and Dashboard).

Quicksilver - Wins the launcher debate by being the least processor intensive and ALWAYS working the way you expect. Butler and Launchbar are also fine programs (earlier in this thread I recommended Butler). I suggest you leave Spotlight active as well - as it makes searching the Mac more, well, Mac-like - but Quicksilver COULD also take it's place, completely. One of the first things you should install and learn to use.

iStat Menus - From the maker(s) of the iStat widget that is so loved by Dashboard users everywhere. This puts that functionality into the menu bar. Plenty of customization and options here. I currently can see my CPU, Memory, HD, Temps and Network usage even with the browser window full screen. Great little app. Make sure you upgrade from 1.2 to 1.3 of you haven't already.

smc Fan Control - lets me set my MBP to a slightly higher fan speed, to keep it cooler than stock. Shows temp and Fan RPM in the menu bar.

Not sure any of my other choices of free apps aren't already covered, but I will share anyways, hehe:

MPEG Streamclip - Indispensable for converting MPEG videos (including non-encrypted DVDs) to other formats you can use.

Adium - Multi-protocol IM client. So many options that it can be daunting to set-up to your liking, but once set you wonder why all chat programs can't do what Adium can.

Perian - Lets Quicktime view (and then transcode, in some cases) a much wider variety of video, including FLV and AVI (DiVX, XViD, etc)

That's all I can think of at the moment. Enjoy!

 

anyone have anything new to contribute or update?

 

what about adding filezilla in ftp clients?

Filezilla Mac OSX

 

Oops, i should of combine with my previous post,but what software (free) could i use to record video on my screen? I know there is screenflow but a $99.00, really? No thanks, that too much lol

 

screensnapz is a pretty good program. Its not free (70), but the free trial lets you record video if you just need a short video.

 

This should have been bumped...

 

Fugu-SSH SFTP Client
http://rsug.itd.umich.edu/software/fugu/

Just got this too SSH to my Apple TV and so far it is great. Quick, lightweight, and gets the job done without hassle. Only caveat is that it looks like it is not being updated anymore (last update is May 05), so if it does not work for you it probably never will. But if it does it is a nice little SSH client.

 

Brilliant list, thank you

 

How about Delicious Library?

 

It's not listed here but uTorrent for Mac rocks!

 

this thread needs update...

 

Looks good to me, nice one! But I would also like to suggest SmartSleep.

 

Imo this topic needs to be a sticky, maybe then people wouldn't forget about it as soon as it disappears from the first page. I had to search for it not too long ago because I needed a few applications and I couldn't think of a better place to look for them.

 

AppTrap is a complete free program that deletes associated files when you remove apps... it runs as a preference pane, and just pops up when you normally delete an app to allow you to delete associated files... its actually pretty cool.. install it and turn it on and don't worry about it, just keep using your mac like you always had.
http://konstochvanligasaker.se/apptrap/

 

I know this might not be an appropriate place to ask this but is there a thread that deals with the 15" mbp unibody model? Thanks.

 

The Apple Forum is just a general place for the Mac notebooks and software, and we don't have a specific thread for all the notebooks.

 

You can start a new one off yourself! Go ahead and make a new thread!

 

Currently the interface is absolutely horrendous but I do get faster download speeds on uTorrent as opposed to Transmission.

 

I've tried almost all the torrent programs for mac, and I have to say utorrent is the best, in fact I have comcast and with a pc I never got to 1mb a sec. With this new mbp, I get around 500kbps-1mbps with utorrent (beta for mac).

 

I think this thread should be bookmarked.

 

Just read this article and it will be useful for this thread.

Ten Free Mac Tools for Getting Work Done

 

Bookmarked!!

 

It needs updating and stickied

 

hey... there needs to be an addition in the section for compression tools...

7z is about the best compression you can get. for example... I had a 550mb .app I made that using standard .zip only went down to 180mb... but I could 7z it down to 98mb.

The best 7z capable OSX program I've found is called 7zX ( http://sixtyfive.xmghosting.com/products/7zx/) It even supports spanning...

 

A new burner/copier software.

http://simplyburns.berlios.de/