Macintosh OS X Software Under the Radar

Turnersville, NJ—Here are some little-known software applications that I use relatively frequently. Obviously, I find them very useful for one reason or another, but you may too. Some are obscure, and some are well-known. In addition, some are free, while others are commercial. It's a mixed bag, really. And though I haven't personally made the switch to an Intel-powered Macintosh, I note which applications are universal binaries, and which are not.

This list is not intended to provide full reviews, but I do briefly explain why I use each application, and what I like/dislike about them.

 

	Yummy FTP OS X Tiger Support, Universal Binary $25.00 US - Site: http://yummysoftware.com For a long time I was a big Transmit fan (panic.com/transmit), but once I discovered Yummy FTP, that all changed. Yummy can do just about everything Transmit can, in addition to having many extra useful features. Plus, the interface is more configurable, and just plain appealing. One thing I miss from transmit is WebDav support (for iDisk syncing, et al.), although, Yummy Software tells me that WebDav support is coming! I also miss Automator support, although Yummy has an even better AppleScript interface than Transmit has Automator capabilities. So what's the big deal? Yummy FTP has the most reliable, robust recovery system of any FTP client. It also has a feature called AutoRoute, whereby dragging any files or folders onto the Yummy FTP icon will initiate an upload, and Yummy "just knows" where to put the files on the server. Yummy has transfer scheduling, an FTP watcher, linked navigation, and my favorite synchronization tool of any of the big FTP clients.
	BlueHarvest OS X Tiger Support, Universal Binary $10 US - Site: http://www.zeroonetwenty.com BlueHarvest addresses a particularly annoying "feature" in OS X - resource files. Have you ever seen those "dot" files all over your network drives? These are temporary resource files created by MacOS, and are not cleaned up very efficiently. BlueHarvest also handles those "DS-Store" files. So what's the big deal? With BlueHarvest, you can tell your Mac not to create these annoying "extra" files on your drives or network shares, either by destination, or by application type. In addition, and in my opinion, the best feature, is the "cleaner", where you can drop files, folders and network drives, and have them cleaned (have all temporary resource files deleted). It's a great way to clean up before sending files to someone else.
	PathFinder OS X Tiger Support, Universal Binary $34.95 US - Site: http://www.cocoatech.com Macintosh OS X is a great operating system, but undoubtedly, the weakest link is the Finder. PathFinder answers that need with its Finder replacement. So what's the big deal? The feature-set is too large to list here, but some great features include, a file drop-zone, built-in Stuffit engine, CD/DVD burning, more customizable UI with breadcrumbs and tab sets, a Sherlock-like search that is lightning fast, search and select files in one click, and more... much, much more.
	Linotype FontExplorer X OS X Tiger Support, Universal Binary FREE - Site: http://www.linotype.com/fontexplorerX Every time I use this program I shake my head in disbelief that it's free. FontExplorer X is like iTunes for fonts. You can organize, activate, and buy fonts all in one interface. I was a big fan of FontReserve, but when they were bought out by Extensis and eliminated to further their Suitcase product (which had become buggy and bloated), I was desperate for another choice. Then I discovered FontExplorer. So what's the big deal? The biggest feature? It appears to be bug-free in my over two years of using it. That alone makes it worth using. In addition to working flawlessly, it features "activate-on-demand" font plugins for QuarkXPress, InDesign, and more. It allows you to categorize your fonts any way you like, and the font previews and printing are unsurpassed. If you put a premium on using fonts, you must download this program.
	Linein OS X Tiger Support, Universal Binary FREE - Site: http://www.rogueamoeba.com/freebies LineIn is a simple application for OS X to enable the soft playthru of audio from input devices. In simpler terms, you can use LineIn to play sound coming in through a microphone or any other device plugged in to your Sound In port, just as was once available with OS 9's "Play input through output device" option. So what's the big deal? It turns your Macintosh audio card in a full-duplex sound device. Enough said.
	Slim Battery Monitor OS X Tiger Support, PowerPC FREE - Site: http://www.orange-carb.org/SBM SlimBatteryMonitor is a replacement power gauge for Mac OS X that tracks both laptop batteries and many UPS batteries. Multiple-battery systems (e.g. older powerbooks) are supported as well. A graphical icon shows the power remaining, and can be accompanied by a text description (battery charge in percent, or time remaining). Colors can indicate whether the system is fully charged, charging or on battery. So what's the big deal? In short, it shows the percent full or time remaining, has 5 different shape options, and is much smaller than Apple's gauge! Best of all, you can choose different display options for each battery state (fully charged, charging or on battery). You may wish to see the time remaining while on battery, for example, but show only the icon during charging, and hide SlimBatteryMonitor entirely when batteries are fully charged.
	Little Snitch OS X Tiger Support, Universal Binary $24.95 US - Site: http://www.obdev.at Little Snitch is one of those applications that I install first on a new machine. In a nutshell, Little Snitch is a rules-based system which monitors all of your outgoing data, and alerts you when a specific program or service tries to send any information out over the web. This is a great way to monitor your system for spyware trying to "phone home", or to get control of your outgoing bandwidth. So what's the big deal? Little Snitch is incredibly reliable, and you won't even notice it's there, other than the extra layer of security. It comes pre-configured with a great default set of rules. It even monitors applications that try to send data out over your TCP/IP connection under the context of another application. This is a must-have application for all Macintosh OS X users, and is worth every penny.
	Adium X OS X Tiger Support, Universal Binary FREE - Site: http://www.adiumx.com If you use two or more instant messenger clients, you should be using Adium X. This application is a multi-chat client, which supports AOL Instant Messenger (Including ICQ and .Mac), Jabber (Including Google Talk), MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger (Including Yahoo! Japan), Bonjour (Compatible with iChat), Gadu-Gadu, Novell Groupwise, and Lotus Sametime. With Adium X, you don't need several chat programs running concurrently. So what's the big deal? Adium X supports a myriad of IM client standards, is fully skinable, supports Avatars, user-definable emoticons, and has an extensive free plugin library with sound schemes, icons, avatars, skins, emoticons, and more.
	SynergyKM OS X Tiger Support, PowerPC FREE - Site: http://software.landryhetu.com/synergy This application is perfect for those of us who use one or more Macintosh computers alongside one or more Windows or Linux PC's. Synergy is a mouse and keyboard sharing application, allowing a user to use one keyboard and mouse over several computers on the same network. SynergyKM is a branch of the Synergy project, which provides a GUI for Macintosh computers to control the Synergy service. SynergyKM comes with everything you need in a simple installer. So what's the big deal? SynergyKM is a huge timesaver. A developer (like me) can sit at their Mac all day, and simply move the mouse off the screen, and onto the desktop of another computer right next to them. Once your mouse is active on the other machine, the keyboard shifts focus to that machine as well. This application can be a pain to set up due to the lack of good documentation, but OMG - it's worth every tear! Once you have SynergyKM configured, you'll never have to touch it again.
	CHmox OS X Tiger Support, Universal Binary FREE - Site: http://chmox.sourceforge.net CHMox is a great free utility for viewing Microsoft Help files on your Macintosh. These ".chm" files are found everywhere on the web, and until chmox was released, were impossible to open. So what's the big deal? CHmox will allow Macintosh users to read various ebooks, developer guides, and help documents that are saved in Microsoft ".chm" compiled html format.
	GraphicConverter OS X Tiger Support, Universal Binary FREE - Site: http://www.lemkesoft.com GraphicConverter is one of the most useful, under-utilized programs I know of. It handles a gajillion formats, including obscure ones like web favicons, and comes free with your Macintosh. So what's the big deal? GraphicConverter is one of the best image conversion tools out there, and provides free updates to the latest version for owners of the OEM version (Macintosh OS X users). It's a great, simple way to convert images like web favicons, Windows icon resource files, and standard formats like TIFF, PNG, BMP, and PICT, to name just a few.
	Handbrake/Instant Handbrake OS X Tiger Support, Universal Binary FREE - Site: http://handbrake.m0k.org Converting video can be a dark art, but Handbrake makes it simple. It will convert various video source file types into H.264 or MPEG4 video. Instant Handbrake is a simplified version just for iPods. It will rip DVD's or convert existing video to an iPod compatible format in a couple clicks. So what's the big deal? Handbrake makes it incredibly simple to convert video into H.264 or MPEG4 format, and Instant Handbrake makes it even easier to rip video directly to your iPod. Handbrake features a conversion queue, video cropping, and more. And it's FREE!
	Keyboard Maestro OS X Tiger Support, Universal Binary $20 US - Site: http://www.keyboardmaestro.com If you've ever had the need to repeat a series of keypresses, copy/paste operations, or even manage applications automatically, Keyboard Maestro is the application for you. It's not quite as feature-rich as Quickeys X3, but that program is $80 US. So what's the big deal? Keyboard Maestro is a great way to automate repetetive keystrokes and clipboard sequences, like when manipulating HTML documents. For example, you could define a keystroke sequence that inserts a "" tag, then goes to the end of the line, and inserts a "" closing tag. It's also great for things that the free TextPander did, like creating text codes or keystroke sequences to automatically type your full name, address, or telephone number.
	Onyx OS X Tiger Support, Universal Binary FREE - Site: http://www.titanium.free.fr The one, single cleanup and maintenance tool to own for Macintosh OS X is Onyx. With it, you have access to all the built-in cleanup and maintenance scripts the OS provides, a scheduler, UNIX utilities, and tons of operating system parameters, like "show hidden files" and a way to specify the format of screen capture files. So what's the big deal? With Onyx, you don't need any other system maintenance and customization utilities ("need" being a relative term). I have yet to find something Onyx cannot do, and this is from a former Cocktail user.