Reply With QuoteDashlane works excellently with Chrome. My favourite browser remains Opera. If you’re so inclined Little Snitch is useful
I've just bought a MacBook Pro in order to support fully my new clients who are all on Macs. I was once a bit of a MacHead in the old days of OS8 and OS9 but have recently been living in the Linux world. Having to pay for software once again is bit of a shock.
I'd like to ask Mac users, what are your favourite apps? Which are the apps or utilities that make your life easier and more enjoyable?
Please ignore any of the main apps like office or Adobe CC, I'd be interested in the little gems you use. For example I used to use a powerful word processor called Nisus and was pleased to see that they're still trading.
Obviously everyone has different requirements but it would be very interesting to hear your choice apps or utilities.
Thanks
David
David
Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations
Dashlane works excellently with Chrome. My favourite browser remains Opera. If you’re so inclined Little Snitch is useful
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
In my days of Mac ownership - Alfred was the app I used the most. It was a launcher etc. Few years ago so maybe they have their own built in one now, especially with the rise of Siri
https://www.alfredapp.com
Spectacle is useful for quickly sizing windows (fullscreen, half screen etc.) with keyboard shortcuts.
Caffeine and NoSleep* are both useful is you need to make sure your Mac doesn't go to sleep in the middle of doing something important. Just remember not to leave them enabled all the time!
* Not to be confused with the app of the same name on the app store. It's a cash-grab scam squatting the name. The link is the correct one and it's free.
Also don't forget homebrew if you use a lot of Unix things. There's also MacPorts, but that needs to recompile everything whenever you install or run an update. It's a huge pain as it takes hours and sometimes you can find yourself manually resolving complex dependencies, at which point you may as well be compiling individual packages from source yourself.
Homebrew has pretty much become the de-facto standard now, even though the builds are not always completely in line with standards from other platforms. They are usually just seen as "the mac version" though, and have a lot more documentation online for any quirks that might come up (nonstandard config directories being the main one). After having not great experience with MacPorts and much better experience with Homebrew, I've decided to stick with that and if I ever do need a completely Linux/BSD compatible build of something, I'll just run it in a VM or a container.
I use Alfred all the time to launch apps.
BetterTouchTool is great for adding custom actions to the track pad.
I use Backblaze for cloud backups.
Bartender is good for reducing clutter on the top right status bar.
iStat Menus adds all sorts of useful menus.
1Password is the best password manager.
QuickRes is handy for changing screen resolution.
gfxCardStatus shows whether the integrated or discrete graphics card is active.
Fantastical 2 is the best calendar app I've used.
I use Airmail for my email client.
I use Twitterrific as my Twitter client.
Last edited by Phil Lee; 30th January 2018 at 09:53.
Thanks Phil - some gems there!
^^^ Useful - thanks.
I use PDFPen every day in my work. As a PDF editor, it is very good and surprisingly cheap.
I'll add another. I am visiting my parents but need to do some work on my CV today. I wanted to use a second screen on my MacBook Pro and remembered I bought Duet Display a while ago. It lets you use an iPad as a second screen for the Mac and works really well. You install an app on the iPad, some drivers on the Mac and connect the two via USb. The iPad runs at 60fps with no discernible lag. I'd definitely recommend it is you are travelling, have an iPad and need a second screen.
You can read more at https://www.duetdisplay.com
Onyx is a useful housekeeping program. Good for keeping things shipshape.
I use already mentioned Alfred, Istat menus.
My other favourites:
Mailunread menu - shows unread message count in taskbar.
Safaristand - can't imagine my life without it - quick search: select word or phrase, right click and search in google, wikipedia, google maps and you can configure any web site that offer search - RIPE database for IP addresses for example; tab switching with , and .; set fixed tab width etc.
Quicksilver - applauncher +
Onyx - system tasks
1Password - password manager
OmniFocus - GTD
OmniGraffle - flowcharts
Downie - video downloader
VLC plays anything downloaded from art movie websites.
I recently found Itsycal, https://www.mowglii.com/itsycal/ I cannot imagine not having it now.
Undercover - can track your Mac if stolen. Can take pictures, screen shots, IP address, and log keyboard. Will even create reports for the police to make it really easy to recover the laptop and arrest the thief.
EDIT:
Chronosync - backup and sync
Calibre - library (Kindle) management
Cyberduck - FTP
Tweetbot - Twitter client
WhatSize - disk space checking
HoudahSpot - file finder
Levelator - MP3 sound leveller
LineIn - audio tool
Audacity - audio tool
Name mangler - bulk file renamed
Gimp - photo manipulation
iThoughtsX - mind mapping
Firefox - web browser
OpenOffice - office suite
Parcel - parcel tracking
ClamXAV - anti-virus
Little Snitch - network security
iA Writer - distraction-free word processor
Scrivener - writing tool
Daisy Disk - file & folder size checking
Last edited by Templogin; 30th January 2018 at 21:43.
I have hardly any apps on my Mac - but the ones I do have I couldn't live without!
https://www.alfredapp.com - +1. Couldn't live without it.
https://www.boastr.net - Bettertouchtool again - well worth paying for. Great for re-arranging windows with the keyboard
https://bahoom.com/hyperswitch/ - Hyperswitch is a good one. I'm not a big fan of the standard 'alt-tab' by default on the mac, great to be able to flick through all windows
https://www.mowglii.com/itsycal/ - itsycal again! Use it everyday
https://paintbrush.sourceforge.io - Paintbrush - great little app for quick image re-sizing / markup etc
https://handbrake.fr - classic free software for converting all types of video. Never really use it anymore - but handy to have on-hand at times!
Perhaps too simple to mention, but hey... WhatsApp on your desktop. I recently installed this. Should have done this years ago.
Menno
Yep, I have been using this for a while now. It is simply amazing.Originally Posted by thieuster
Moom - https://manytricks.com/moom/
Namemangler - https://manytricks.com/namemangler/
CarbonCopyCloner - https://bombich.com/
DaisyDisk - https://daisydiskapp.com
Alfred as others have mentioned.
Last edited by Nogbad The Bad; 2nd February 2018 at 15:55.
I use SuperDuper for disk cloning/backups.
I also use Daisy Disk for disk space monitoring.
I use Better for ad blocking.
I use A Better Finder Rename and Big Mean Folder Machine for file renaming and organisation, particularly of photos.
I find SETI to be better for that.
A word of warning. If anyone installed Onyx after reading this thread, since 1st February, you will have had some malware installed on your Mac. You can read about the problem at:
https://blog.malwarebytes.com/threat...acupdate-hack/
I installed Onyx on 28th January so was OK but wanted to mention it here incase anyone had done what I'd done.
A (very) belated thanks for all the replies. Exploring is underway... :)
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