Useful MAC Apps and Hardware [Ongoing Updates]

Mike Lucey · 25 Jan 2009, 02:53

Thanks Edson, I checked out Freeway and must say the it looks to be superior to iWeb and Rapidweaver. The video tutorials are excellent. The narrator has a good turn of phrase and easy to listen to. It's probably worth going for the Pro version with the added features.

Mike

Tim Danaher · 5 Feb 2009, 22:49

Has no-one mentioned DragThing yet?

The Official DragThing Home Page

The new official DragThing home page. You can get the most up-to-date DragThing news and information here, and download the latest version.

(www.dragthing.com)

Couldn't do without it. Fock the Dock.

Mike Lucey · 8 Feb 2009, 16:04

Thanks Tim, will look at that as I have yet to find a good Dock system.

Mike

Mike Lucey · 19 Feb 2009, 01:56

Hi Guys,

Sometimes the simple apps are the most useful. I've come across Fresh from the makers Yep.

The blurb goes, 'Fresh. Why bother finding it when its right there?' This app makes sense as it mimics real life (untidy) desktops, mine in anycase

Have a look and let me know what you think. http://www.ironicsoftware.com/fresh/

Mike

PS: At €7.50 its cheap

Mike Lucey · 23 Feb 2009, 01:05

Hi Guys,

I've just discovered Sketchers Studio and its Mac only (so far). Shhhhhh! Don't tell any of the PC guys about this application as I think it might upset them.

We have been seeing a lot of cool animation programs for SketchUp lately but most were for Windows. I have just been checking out Sketchers Studio and it looks like it may make up for the disapointments. It also reasonably priced

医療システム・アプリの開発 eXTEM Software Japan 株式会社

eXTEM Software Japan 株式会社では、現代の多種多様なニーズにお応えできるようにマルチプラットフォーム戦略を行ってます。 Mac・PC・モバイルアプリケーションの開発からORCA・OsiriXを使った医療システムまで、最新の技術でシステムを構築いたします。

(www.extem.com)

http://sketchersstudio.com/en/index.html

Let me have your thoughts.

Mike

Edson · 23 Feb 2009, 10:55

mike,

this thread is invaluable. almost all your entries are new to me and i have purchased several of them. sketchers studio seems very competent indeed. thanks.

solo · 23 Feb 2009, 14:52

Cool thread Mike, it's nice to see that there are some 'real' work related software being made for Mac's these days

@unknownuser said:

Shhhhhh! Don't tell any of the PC guys about this application as I think it might upset them.

You are right, too many choices on the PC side can be frustrating, it's so simple when you have less to choose from.

(tongue in cheek)

jeff hammond · 23 Feb 2009, 19:10

@burkhard said:

Do anyone know a little prog which samples the program Icons on the desktop?
( Now I'm in the Mac family, too )

Thanks Mike. I am meaning an easy way to start my apps from the Desktop without folder structures. I have similar something for windows, where I can organize my apps and start quickly what I need ( without having the desktop blowup with copied Icons).

Burkhard

i realize your post is old and you may have found a solution you like but...

one of the easiest/fastest ways to launch apps is via spotlight.

⌘-space (spotlight shortcut)
type in a few letters from the app's name ( 'sk' --> Sketchup)
press return to launch

this works better with leopard.. with tiger, the first item highlighted in spotlight was 'show all' but with leopard, they made the apps highlight first so you simply have to hit return to launch..

another method is to drag your application folder into the dock as a stack.. that gives you one-click access to all of your apps.. (well, sort of... some of your apps are nestled in folders within the application folders and only those folders show up in the stack.. i made a little script that finds all your apps and creates aliases in a separate folder which can then be placed in the dock so only the launch icons will appear in the stack.. basically, this puts all of your apps in the dock but only uses one icon worth of space... i can share that if needed)

jeff hammond · 25 Feb 2009, 06:57

Screen Recycler -- (the link is to a new site called appstorm.. if you're into finding tasty little mac tidbits, it's worth an rss)

http://mac.appstorm.net/reviews/utilities/screenrecycler-re-using-old-displays/

Mike Lucey · 25 Feb 2009, 10:10

Thanks Jeff, Screen Recycler looks to be a useful app.

Mike Lucey · 3 Apr 2009, 10:25

Hi Guys,

There is a good offer at http://www.macheist.com/. $622 worth of software for $39 and it is not warez
It has a nice presentation and a video for each tool as review. I have a few of them, Acorn and Picturesque already but think it is still good value.

Mike

Paul Russam · 3 Apr 2009, 10:42

Mike,
I was just about to post about the Macheist bundle but you beat me to it!

If you follow them on twitter and post a single message informing your followers about the bundle then they'll add Delicious Library 2 and a game called Multiwina for free!

I haven't installed all the apps, just the ones I want (or think I want). So far I've found Little Snapper to be very good, World of Goo is fun, and I'm looking forward to having a good go with Kinemac.

Dam good value for $39, thats only £26.43 in real money

Mike Lucey · 3 Apr 2009, 11:48

Thanks Paul,

Well I can highly recommend Acorn for quickie graphics jobs.

jeff hammond · 21 Apr 2009, 02:11

rhino for OS X has been in development for little while now.. you can sign up as a beta tester if you'd like and get free use of the app plus offer any feedback if you wish:

(community.irhino3d.com)

(top right under 'getting started'... fill out an application)

it's going to be free for a good long while until the final release is ready..

here's an interview with bob mcneel which gives a rough road map for the app:
http://mac.develop3d.com/2009/04/irhino-quick-update-with-bob-mcneel.html

takesh h · 21 Apr 2009, 03:19

It's not the best app available on Macs, but just for your knowledge...
OpenOffice.org 3.0 has finally gone Mac. I didn't know till yesterday.
"Available for the first time as native Mac OS X application."
http://download.openoffice.org/index.html

Mike Lucey · 18 Jun 2009, 12:01

CodeWeavers CrossOver

Discover how easy it is to run Windows apps on Mac and Linux with CrossOver.

Discover the easiest way to run Microsoft Windows productivity apps and games on Mac and Linux without purchasing a Windows license, using a Virtual Machine, or Dual-Booting.

CodeWeavers (www.codeweavers.com)

The blurb goes,

**Welcome to CodeWeavers - Your Home for Windows Compatibility on Mac and Linux

Our flagship Windows-to-Macintosh compatibility tool. Intended for Intel Mac OS X machines, CrossOver Mac will allow Mac users to run their favorite Windows applications seamlessly on their Mac. Windows files can be opened directly within your file browser, or from email attachments. No rebooting, no switching to a virtual machine, and no Windows Operating System license required; CrossOver is a complete replacement for your Windows OS as far as your Windows software is concerned. Your Windows Mac compatibility solution!**

I have just d/l the demo and will give it a tryout with some Win programs that I still use from time to time. I would be nice not to have to reboot or go into Parellels.

Mike

UPDATE: Yep it seems to work fine with the couple of Windows programs that I have brought through so far.

Edson · 9 Jul 2009, 19:27

Typing utility: TextExpander 1.3.1

If you find yourself frequently typing the same text, TextExpander 1.3.1 can save you hours of work—and your fingers hours of typing—each month. It lets you assign abbreviations to snippets of text; the abbreviations are automatically expanded to the full text snippets when you type them. For example, when I type homeadd, TextExpander types my full home address. TextExpander can also insert images or a mix of text and images, and you can create new snippets from selected text. TextExpander works systemwide, so your snippets are available in any OS X application that lets you type text. ($30; SmileOnMyMac)

tbd · 9 Jul 2009, 21:48

Listen to free internet radio channels, record, edit and export to iTunes.

thousands of radio stations for you to choose from
one click recording
Get Album Artwork
1-Click Export to iTunes
Import Internet Playlists

http://www.snowtape.com/ ($29, trial limits to 60 min of recordings)

Mike Lucey · 14 Jul 2009, 23:50

Hi Guys,

Sometimes its the simple apps that are the biggest time savers. I think I have found one that will save me a lot of time. Its iCombiner (The Mac way to merge PDFs and images)
http://creativebe.com/icombiner/ Its not free and not that cheap but I think it will be worth the $16.80 as it is already saving me time. I can now get the loose screen grabs and bits and pieces into one PDF just by dragging and dropping them into iCombiner.

Mike

Mike Lucey · 27 Jul 2009, 10:11

CROSS OVER again.

I mentioned Cross Over before. However I have now requested that they consider listing SketchUp so that it would work under Cross Over. I advised them that there is a Mac version of SketchUp but it would be very useful if they could make the Win Version work under Cross Over as there are quite a lot of Plugins that only work in the Win version. It is so handy not having to go over to Boot Camp via rebooting to run SketchUp Win.

I imagine the more requests they get to quicker this might be looked at. So if you are interested please go to their site and list SketchUp. http://www.codeweavers.com/

Mike