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With the holiday season in full bloom, I thought I’d take a moment to share a list of some of my favorite software. I like to list as much free software as possible, but I’m still dependent on some shareware and commercial software. Hopefully, you can find a new piece of software from this list to make 2009 even better for you. If you happen to fall in love with something that’s free, consider making a donation to the author. They put a lot of time and energy into their work!
Here’s what I can’t live without on my Macs:
Airfoil: I stream a lot of types of audio — iTunes, internet radio, Logic audio, the NBA League Pass, EyeTV, as well as QuickTime files — to a variety of Macs and speakers. Without Airfoil, I wouldn’t be able to do it. It’s the perfect companion to an AirPort Express or Apple TV. $25.
Billings: As an independent consultant, I need a billing program that is easy to use (as I need far fewer features than QuickBooks Pro offers) and one that can produce attractive estimates, invoices, and other stationary. For me, Billings 3 is the best choice. Currently $40.
Burn: My favorite alternative CD and DVD burning application. Why pay for Toast? Free. Another great (and free) alternative is Liquid CD. It just had a major revision on Dec. 20, 2008.
ClamXAV: The best free anti-virus software.
Cyberduck: While its interface is not as slick as Transmit, it’s hard to argue with the value and feature set of this FTP client. It is updated frequently, and the author is very concerned with making the program as good as it can be. Free.
Data Rescue II: If you need to recover data from a corrupt or damaged hard drive, I believe this is the best software a consumer can use. Chances are, if it can’t save your data, Drive Savers is your only option. $99.
DiskWarrior: Truly the greatest disk repair utility ever made. If your data is corrupt, turn to DiskWarrior.
Firefox: I continually try to love Safari (since it syncs so well with my iPhone), but I find Firefox to be better. I used to use Camino, but since Firefox 3 was released, I’ve switched to it full-time. Combined with the great Foxmarks program to sync bookmarks and passwords among my various Firefox installations, it’s a wonderful browsing experience. Free.
Growl: Growl’s website says that it “lets Mac OS X applications unintrusively tell you when things happen.” Think of it as “popups you actually want.” Hard to describe without trying it; indispensable once you do. Free.
Handbrake: I use this software all the time to convert DVDs to MP4s, and the newest version can convert any file, not just VIDEO_TS directories. I still use the now-defunct VisualHub as well (may it rest in peace). See my article on converting DVDs to iPods, iPhones, and Apple TVs. Free.
Hazel: Do you use rules in Mail? Imagine using them throughout your computer. That’s Hazel, your personal housekeeper. I have to admit that I didn’t want to pay for this software — not because I thought it should be free — but because I didn’t want to admit I needed it. Just like I am around the house, I’m a lot more productive when my computer is tidy, and Hazel makes sure it stays that way. $22.
iBank: I really hate to say this, but I believe Quicken for Windows is the best money management application on the planet. Everyone knows Quicken for Mac is on life support. I’ve used just about every financial management application on the Mac, and I believe iBank is the best. I use it for both my personal and business accounts. Supporting both OFX and TurboTax is a big help. $60.
iWork ‘08: I think many people would argue that a decade ago, Microsoft Word 5.1 was a great Mac application. That was the last time Microsoft made something we Mac users could call “great.” Today, I rely on Pages for everything I write. Its Word export is excellent (better than Word 2008’s compatibility with Windows versions). Its commenting and change tracking is beautiful. The templates are elegant. Oh, and then there’s Numbers and Keynote. If Pages supported cross-references, I’d be in heaven. $80. I always keep OpenOffice on my Mac as well. Free.
JBidwatcher: This is not the prettiest eBay auction manager, but find me a better free sniping application, and I’ll use it. This program has never failed me.
Linotype FontExplorerX: I find Apple’s Font Book difficult to use and lacking in many features. If you have thousands of fonts, give FontExplorerX a try. For a free font manager, it’s awfully impressive.
Little Snitch: I’ve almost forgotten what it’s like to have a Mac without Little Snitch. I recognize using this program is for the slightly paranoid, but I like knowing exactly which inbound and outbound internet connections are occurring. Besides, I hate when applications phone home. $30.
MediaInfo Mac: Need a forensics expert for your media files? This is your answer. It can tell you everything you ever wanted to know about codecs, container files, bitrates, and more. Free.
MetaX: Need to tag video files? Don’t do it in iTunes. Use MetaX. Free.
OmniFocus: Despite its complexity and its price, OmniFocus is the ultimate task management application, especially if you are a fan of David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) system. I use it on all my Macs and my iPhone to manage everything that needs to get done. In addition, I have to say that Omni Group is my favorite independent Mac developer. $80.
OmniOutliner: If you’re serious about writing outlines, check out OmniOutliner. I wouldn’t have made it through law school without it. $40-70.
Perian: The Swiss Army knife for QuickTime. If you can’t play a file you’ve downloaded, install Perian. It should work after that. Free.
Skitch: Every screenshot you’ve seen on this site was made with Skitch. It’s incredibly easy to grab windows (or sections thereof) and all text, shapes, and arrows. Free.
TextWrangler: If you need to edit plain-text files, especially HTML/XML/CSS, etc., TextWranger is the watered down version of BBEdit. For me, it has everything I need. Combined with Cyberduck, I have a great and free way to edit my sites. Free.
Transmission: My favorite BitTorrent client. Every release gets better and better. It’s open source, has a small memory foot print, and a beautiful interface. Free.
VLC: This is the best alternative to the QuickTime Player. You don’t need to install any codecs or software to play just about any file or DVD you throw at it. The interface is slowly improving, too. Free.
This list is obviously incomplete, and that’s where you come in. What are your favorite Mac applications? Anything on this list you’d change? Share your best finds in the comments, and have happy holidays!
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Hi,
what about JBidwatcher? It’s not working anymore since November. I really miss this very useful app.
Hi Lazlo,
I looked into this, as I was unaware of any problems. Now I see why: JBidwatcher only fails to work if you live outside of the United States. Since I’m in Oregon, I have not run into any problems. Until there is an update, international users will probably be out of luck.
it’s funny, i was a diehard camino user until firefox 3. I can hardly remember life before greasemonkey.
have you tried MainMenu? it’s a menu bar app that keeps a lot of housecleaning processes available and easy to find? it’s probably not as great as Hazel–which i’ve got to check out–but it’s good for the occasional cleanup. Also what about Permanent Eraser? supposedly does a better job of “deleting” things? call me paranoid, but I like using it.
Great site, here’s a few of my Fav Apps:
EasyFind
OnyX
PDFView
coRD
Solitaire XL
TextWrangler
UnRarX
Transmit
although it may be redundant with spotlight, I really like Quicksilver.
Some things I use so often and so much I forget they’re separate applications.
Quicksilver is probably my favorite app ever. Controlling iTunes, emailing documents to people directly. . . it really is awesome.
Also Skim saved me with research, and downloading articles. Being able to highlight and underline pdfs was invaluable.
Sidenote is a handy notepad contraption that’s so much better than stickies. It disappears and reappears and is pretty much awesome.
Thanks Matt,
I forgot to say I’m from Europe.
@j m : I’m a big fan of QS but you should try Butler too !
Greetings,
Thanks for the kind words about JBidwatcher! I’d love to make it prettier, I just don’t know how to do it and still provide all the information folks want. (I’m generally a back-end developer in my day jobs, so my UI skills are less than optimal.)
As for the international issue, I have a potential fix for it, but since I don’t have a non-US account (and eBay doesn’t allow signing up for one), I can’t test it.
I’m offering up test/pre-release versions at http://next.jbidwatcher.com for anyone willing to try it and let me know how it does.
Best of luck with your auctions!
Oh, and FoxMarks is awesome; I use it to sync bookmarks on a half dozen Firefox installs on multiple platforms; I also can’t really live without FireBug anymore. Growl, OmniOutliner, and VLC are also great. I’m a fan of RescueTime, VueScan, Delicious Library, and IntelliJ IDEA, all of which I use regularly. I’ll have to try Transmission, as I’m a bit annoyed with Azureus.
– Morgan Schweers, CyberFOX!
Hi Morgan,
Thank you so much for making JBidwatcher. I really love the program. The only reason I say it’s not “pretty” is because it’s Java, and I think it looks great for a Java program. Please don’t view that as a criticism. I’ve used it for years now and always recommend it to my friends who want to be sure they win their auctions. The fact that you still don’t charge for it is the icing on the cake!
Matt
When I install I absolutely have to install LaunchBar first thing. I’ve been using it for almost 10 years (since OpenStep) and it’s indispensable!
Next – OmniOutliner, OmniGraffle, and NetNewsWire.
I’d add a vote for RipIt as well. Handbrake won’t do everything (when VLC is installed of course).
I noticed you use iBank for your finances. May I suggest a Personal Financial Manager app which is the best I’ve seen so far? It’s Moneywell from http://www.nothirst.com. Perhaps iBank and Quicken are good for business owners and therefore can generate thousands of reports, but for the average guy who needs to simply budget his money and track his spending, I’ve not found a better app than Moneywell. Just thought I’d mention it because I’ve it’s not generally covered on the main Mac sites….
Hi Daniel,
I have tried Moneywell, and I like it as well. It doesn’t do everything I need, but your assessment is spot on, so hopefully others will give it a try. I should say I also really like Moneydance, which handles many types of accounts and is cross platform (including linux).