UsefulMacSoftware

I. Maintenance
Ia. Antivirus & Firewall
II. Archives
III. Internet
IIIa. Web Browsing
IIIb. FTP Clients
IIIc. File Sharing
IIId. Chat Clients
IIIe. RSS Aggregators
IV. Audio
V. Video
VI. Images
VII. Control
VIII. Beauty
IX. Science & Education
X. Reading & Writing
XI. Widgets
XII. Misc
XIIa. Alarm clocks/timers
XIIb. Everything else


I. Maintenance

AppZapper
Although every application should be self-contained, most scatter caches, preferences and logs all over the place, which AppZapper will kill for you. Drag an app. onto it and it'll do all the work; alternatively, use the genie function to list all the apps. installed so you can decide what you want to get rid of.
License: Shareware, $12.95 to buy.

OmniDiskSweeper
Quickly shows you what's taking up your hard-drive space and lets you kill files from within the program. Look at WhatSize for a free equivalent.
License: Shareware, $14.92 to buy.

OnyX
A great maintenance program. Lets you run cron jobs whenever you want, repair disk permissions, alter dock properties, just tons of options.
License: Free.

Maintenance
From the same guy who made OnyX, Maintenance does what it says on the tin. It can repair permissions, run periodic scripts, reset Spotlight's Index, rebuild the LaunchServices database, delete Application/Font/System caches and more. Well worth a look.
License Free.

Menumeters
A set of tools for you to check on your system's memory, CPU, and network activity. It lives in your menu bar so it's always available at a glance.
License: Free.

Coconut Flavour
This is actually a small suite of programs, consisting of coconutBattery (your battery's health), coconutIdentityCard (details on your Mac's birthplace and such), and coconutWiFi (if you're in range of a network).
License: Free.

Carbon Copy Cloner
From Tonelok: "Universal Binary, also
* Support for block-level disk-to-disk clones.
* Support for backing up across the network.
* The ability to drill down into folders to select exactly what gets copied and what doesn't (you can drill down indefinitely).
* A more responsive interface and the ability to stop the clone.
* More accurate feedback during the clone.
* The ability to pick up where a previously aborted backup task left off.
* More information about your disks are available within the CCC interface.
* Advanced scheduling capabilities -- choose what days to run your backups and how frequently they should run. You can also defer a backup if it starts at an inopportune time.
* Now you can create a scheduled task that backs up your data whenever you attach a specific hard drive or iPod."


Macs don't need an antivirus at all, no matter what your IT department likes to say. They're just a drain on your resources and your wallet for no benefit at all. Ditto a software firewall because OS X has most ports closed by default (there's one built-in anyway, under "Sharing" in your System Preferences).

II. Archives

UnrarX
Your standard Unrar solution. It's pretty bare bones and it occasionally chokes on multi-part archives but it works.
License: Free

Stuffit Expander
Some people still use .sitx archives to store their applications in so it's worth having this hanging around just in case. Note that some old versions had a bug concerning their menu extension, which used to crash the Finder.
License: Free.

The Unarchiver
This will handle .rar, .zip, .sitx and other more obscure formats. The interface is nice and it works well.
License: Free.

MacPar deLuxe
Admiraldennis said, "handles par, par2, and multi-part rar files (better than UnrarX). Can also create parity sets. An indispensable utility, especially for us Usenet types."
License: Donationware

III. Internet

Rapidweaver
Braggot told us, "Rapidweaver is a life saver for making really nice web sites. Brilliant for code-retards like myself but also brilliant for some of you code-junkies out there. I used it to make my band's website (not trying to plug my band, just wanting to show an almost finished product)."
License: $40

1Password Manager + AutoFill for Mac OS X
It's a massive password application. Autofill, portability, multiple browser support, password generation, .Mac integration, anti-phishing etc.
License: $29.95


Pimp My Safari
This is a large collection of extensions for Safari, some of which are free and some aren't. The general consensus is that Saft and PithHelmet are the two worth forking money out for.
License: Free.

Firefox
Firefox. You all know it and it's available for the Mac. It's a bit shitty compared to the Windows version but it does work if you're obsessed with your FOSS stuff. Deep Square Leg said, "potential users ought to consider the optimised builds made at BeatnikPad or by ElFurbe. At Beatnik's site you can also grab versions built with aqua-like form widgets, but ElFurbe produces a daily build based on the nightly code if you like living on the edge. If you use Uno then use this Firefox theme so it blends in."
License: Free.

Camino
Camino is a Gecko-based browser (the engine that powers Firefox) but written specifically for the Mac. It lacks Firefox's extensions but it runs much smoother and behaves like a good Mac citizen. Have a look at My Camino for various bits and pieces to enhance Camino's functionality.
License: Free.

Shiira
As Camino but based on Webkit so it's lightning-fast. Try it if you like Safari's minimalist style but hate the lack of options.
License: Free.

Opera
Opera is the grand-daddy of all internet browsers. Everything that you need extensions or add-on applications to do in Safari, Camino, Shiira and Firefox can probably be done natively within Opera. It's not well-optimised for the Mac so it looks like ass and needs plenty of tweaking and configuration before it becomes a good experience to use. Once you've done that, however, it's amazing.
License: Free.

OmniWeb
Doctor Jackalope said, "Fast, fast, fucking FAST browser for OS X that isn't a huge memory hog like Safari. The side-drawer tabs take a little bit to get used to but they're OK on a widescreen display".
License: Shareware, $14.95 to buy.


OneButton FTP
This goon-made FTP client seeks to offer an open-source, user-friendly client with an emphasis on drag and drop functionality and file queuing.
License: Free

Transmit
A feature-packed FTP client that probably most closely emulates the behavior of FlashFXP on Windows.
License: $29.95, 15-day trial

CyberDuck
Apps said, "Eh, Cyberduck annoys me, but it's the FTP client I keep going back to. It's quite actively developed, and it gets the job done usually. Must be that rubber duck icon."
License: Free

Yummy FTP
Fellow goon Nex says, "After a long search I finally found a FTP client that I think is decent on the Mac platform."
License: $25, 15-day trial

Fugu FTP Client
tmbc10784 said, "I think this is the best ftp client I have used on OSX. It has a FXP-like window layout -- local folder on left, remote folder on right. Fugu also works with sFTP!" Note that it doesn't yet work with traditional FTP, only sFTP and SCP. Telloc suggested Son of Fugu, which is supposedly better than Fugu.
License: Free.


Transmission
It's like uTorrent, but for Mac. Very small memory footprint, quick to start up and quit. I like minimalism. Supports encryption and file selection within torrents.
License: Free.

BitRocket
It's small, looks and behaves like a proper Mac app. and does the job well. It shows your upload and download speeds in the Dock, which is nice, but it doesn't do a good job of telling you how much you've uploaded.
License: Free.

BitsOnWheels
Similar to BitRocket and Transmission but has fancy visual effects. If you want a 3D dynamic image of the swarm, then go for this.
License: Free.

Azureus
The grand-daddy of all Bittorrent applications. It also looks horrible and consumes far more memory and CPU cycles than anything that runs 24/7 should, mainly because it runs in Java. It's the only client on the Mac that supports selective downloading so you might want to keep around for when you just need one file from your Linux ISOs.
License: Free.

Acquisition
A Mac P2P client that looks like iTunes and actually integrates with iTunes. It also supports Bittorrent, allow you to play back media while it is still downloading, has all the connection/network features you'd expect and some parental controls to boot.
License: Shareware, $18.99 to buy.


Adium
Whether you use MSN, AIM, ICQ, Jabber, GTalk, YIM, .Mac, Gadu-Gadu etc. etc., Adium supports it. It's also ridiculously customisable, so you can make it as flashy or as minimalist as you like. Go to AdiumXtras for message styles, contact list layouts, dock icons and more galore. It's now out of beta and is twice as awesome.
License: Free

aMSN
It looks horrible and feels horrible but it supports the iSight. So if you want to flash your lithe and supple young body for pervy old men, irrespective of your gender, then keep aMSN around.
License: Free

Mercury Messenger
Another MSN client that supports the iSight, only this one is written in Java. It also dumps all the config and log files in your Home directory, which is annoying as hell.
License: Free.

Colloquy
One of the many IRC clients for OSX, though all seem to leave a bit to be desired. This one has an added emphasis on creating a nice-looking GUI.
License: Free

Conversation
Conversation is the IRC client I use for those rare times that I do. I don't really know much about IRC, but this is nice.
License: Free

jIRCii
Endless Mike said, "This became my IRC client of choice immediately after downloading it. It's pretty similar to mIRC for Windows, which was what I was looking for."
License: Free


Newsfire
From goon Suck, "Amazingly Mac-like RSS reader that's beautiful (especially if you don't go crazy with colored groups in the left pane), sleek, fast, and simple. This is the first shareware program I ever registered, and I don't regret it. Strongly recommended."
License: trial that nags you a lot, €16.99 (US$19.51 at current rates)

NetNewsWire
Suck again, "Most people prefer this for their RSS needs. I found the interface to be a bit cluttered and overwhelming, but it seems like I'm in the minority. It's a great product for many people, especially because Newsfire doesn't have a free version."
License: Lite is free, regular is $24.95 after 30-day trial

FeedPopper
I love this one. FeedPopper is an RSS Aggregator that... doesn't aggregate. It pops a little notice up in the corner of the screen when your feeds update, and is the most unique approach to RSS that I've seen on the Mac.
License: Free

Vienna
Matt Gloss said, "I use Vienna for my RSS reader. It works similarly to NetNewsWire, but it's not as bloated and it's free."
License: Free.

IV. Audio

Cog
The closest thing to a Winamp equivalent on OS X. Supports MP3, AAC, FLAC, OGG and other more obscure codecs. Useful if you don't like iTunes or don't want the library features and just want something that will play songs you drag into the playlist.
License: Free.

Doug's AppleScripts for iTunes
More AppleScripts for various functions in iTunes than you can shake a stick at. Have a look through the site to see if there's something that will fill a need of yours because you will find something you like.

Audio Recorder
Need to quickly record something, or like recording your lectures on your *Book? This is simple and straight to the point. And if you didn't know, your *Book has a microphone built-in
License: Free

iScrobbler
iScrobbler is the iTunes plugin for last.fm, a great website that will probably enable you to find new bands you'll like. iScrobbler keeps track of the music you've been listening to and auto-updates your last.fm profile. Lots of goons like this.
License: Free

iPlaylist
All this does is export your iTunes library to an html file, allowing anyone on the internet to see what music you have. I've found it useful in the past when making mixes for people, or I guess you can show off your gigantic e-penis.
License: Free

Senuti
Senuti is great. All it does is take songs off your iPod and let you put them on your computer's hard drive. It actually makes your iPod a viable backup for your music in case your hard drive gets fried.
License: Free

Xiph.org Quicktime Components
This allows you to listen to your OGG files in iTunes, if you're into that sort of thing.
License: Free

Perian
Plugin for Quicktime that will allow it to play AVI and FLV, 3ivX, DivX, Flash Screen Video, MS-MPEG4, Sorenson H.263, Truemotion VP6, and Xvid, AVI support for: AAC, AC3 Audio using A52Codec, H.264, MPEG4, and VBR MP3. Think of it as the Swiss Army Knife of QT plugins.
License: Free.

Max
Simple CD ripper for OS X; can generate audio in over 20 compressed and uncompressed formats including MP3, Ogg (Vorbis), FLAC, AAC, Apple Lossless, Monkey's Audio, WavPack, Speex, AIFF, and WAVE. It can also convert between formats.
License: Free.

V. Video

NicePlayer
It's a Quicktime replacement that can do everything that every other media player can, only better. It takes advantage of Quicktime's plugins and it's possible to add more codecs to extend functionality. It has a nice interface, has playlists, plays .wmv files really well, and scales movies nicely if you like to watch them while working in Word.
License: Free.

Handbrake
GuyGizmo mentioned this one. "Best DVD ripping and encoding tool I've ever used. It makes something that can typically be very difficult and annoying very easy and painless. And it produces great looking files, too."
License: Free

Visual Hub
A goon-made utility to easily convert video based on the free utility iSquint. It's much-loved around these parts. If you have a moral objection to giving people money then you can still find iSquint here.
License: $23.32

ffmpegx
Gleng said, "ffmpegx should be in the video section. It's an audio / video converter that has so far handled everything I've thrown at it with no fuss. I use it for converting DVD to DivX, anything to DVD, and making compressed, scaled down videos for my GP2X. It works like a charm!"
License: Free.

VLC
The daddy of all video players, pretty much. This can handle almost everything you throw at it. The interface is clunky and difficult to use compared to other programs but the vast codec library outweighs that. It can play audio too.
License: Free

MPlayer
A not-bad video player that can handle some video files others won't. I don't use it much, but it's worth having around. If VLC can't play it then there's a good chance MPlayer will.
License: Free

Flip4Mac
Despite the lame name, this is a handy program. It lets you view WMV files in Safari relatively painlessly, and it's free now!
License: Free

VI. Images

Image Well
It's a small image resizer and it can upload to an FTP server too. Just enter the details, drag an image onto it, resize it with the sliders and hit "send". As easy as pie.
License: Free.

Xee
From japii, "THE best image viewing software for OS X. This is essential for people who can't stand using a bloated program like iPhoto and for anyone who hates how you can't scroll through directories with Preview. It is also good for people just coming from XP because it operates exactly like Windows Picture and Fax Viewer. The only thing is by default Page Up and Page Down are the keys used to scroll through a directory.
License: Free

Chocoflop
It's MS Paint for Mac but with layers. I can't get the hang of it for image editing but for producing cheesy MS Paints of Dr. Doom shouting RICHARRRRRDs, then this is all you need.
License: Free

Pixen
crazysim said, "Pixen is a pixel editor. It's very polished and has layers and animation support." It's pretty much made for pixel artists, and it's good at that.
License: Free

ComicBookLover
This is most easily described as iTunes for comic books. It's polished and a breeze to use, and organizable by everything from main character to inker. This one's got the BSS seal of approval!
License: $24.95

FFView
FFView makes reading .cbz and .cbr files on your computer very easy. Also has some speech recognition capability!
License: Free

VII. Control

Sailing Clicker
Lets you control your Mac from your mobile phone or PDA. You can control slideshows, iTunes, DVD playing software etc. - think of this as an alternative to the Apple Remote and one with far more features and functionality.
License: $23.95

Quicksilver
An application launcher and much more -- including calculator, iTunes controller, and numerous plugins available. It's one of the most oft-cited great programs, it clears up dock space, and basically, if you don't have it, get it now. Absolutely essential for many folks.
License: Free

Growl
Atrus said, "Growl is a notification system for Mac OS X: it allows applications that support Growl to send you notifications. For example, it will display the sender, subject, and part of the body when new mail arrives. Or, with any one of these iTunes controllers, display the currently played song information. A lot of other things depending on the application. It can be as simple or complex as you want it, but it will save you time by displaying information without switching applications."
License: Free

Desktop Manager or Virtue
Virtual Desktops for Mac. This is admittedly de-valued now that Spaces is here in Leopard.
License: Free

SynergyKM
Again from Atrus, "Have two or more computers each with their own screen? Want to control all of them with one keyboard/mouse but want to see all screens at once? Look no further. This is Synergy but with a GUI for Mac. Easy to set up and will work with any other computer running Synergy (regardless of platform). You will not be disappointed!"
License: Free

Synergy Classic
nelkon and parker brings us this different Synergy: "I love this little app. It basically allows you to control iTunes using keyboard shortcuts... doesn't sound like much, but it presents information to you so beautifully. Also its completely transparent... no extra menu icons, no extra dock icons... just synergy!"
License: €5

Path Finder
The Finder sucks huge hairy monkey balls and there's no-one out there who will deny that once they try to do anything more than dumping all their files in "Documents". Fortunately, Path Finder is a Finder replacement that is just way, way better: tabs, easy navigation, handles network shares better, has stuffit built in, can slideshow images within itself, has Spotlight integrated etc. Really worth checking out.
License: $34.95

VIII. Beauty

Uno
Let's face it, for all they talk about things "just working", Apple are shit at creating a unified GUI. iTunes, Mail, Safari, the Finder, iWork, iLife - they all alternate between brushed metal and the other smooth style Apple have. Uno introduces the dropped menu-bar style and allows you to have all windows and apps as either metal or plain style. It's hard to describe but once you use it, you'll wonder why Apple didn't do this from the off.
License: Free

CandyBar
The default icons look pretty horrible too. CandyBar is a nice little way of changing individual icons or all of them at once. You can download icons from InterfaceLift or from the Icon Factory. The latter offers their icons in .icontainer format, which CandyBar will apply for you.
License:Shareware, $12.95. It doesn't nag you so you can try it for a long time.

Shapeshifter
Like WindowBlinds but for OS X. If you don't like the default Aqua theme then you can use this to apply other skins for OS X, which you can get from places like InterfaceLift or Mac Themes. It's now a Universal Binary so it runs well on Intel Macs.
License: $20, free trial.

IX. Science & Education

Schoolhouse
This is a great program for college folks. Keep on top of when your homework's due, have your professor's contact info at the click of a button, and keep on top of that ever-plummeting GPA. Also consider Task List, which is free, or Assignment Tracker, which is $5 (thanks to Wolffenstein for the last two links).
License: Free

Sente
G5ANDY told us about this one. "An absolutely must have for social science researchers, it's really iTunes for research. It can be configured to connect to psychinfo, pubmed, media databases and any electronic database that uses z39.50 encoding. You can link .pdfs to entries and compile bibliographies in any publication format. Customer support is great, about 3 hours between responses.
License: $50, one month trial

Celestia
The free, incredibly expansive planetarium. At least check it out, you all know space is awesome.
License: Free

Stellarium
A little more space software couldn't hurt, right? This is a bit more traditional, though. Instead of flying through the cosmos, you get to look at things as you'd see them from Earth. It's a real-time starmap!
License: Free

Genius
Genius is a "smart" flashcard program. It helps you study and remembers what you have trouble learning, and grills you on it more. It's great, especially if taking a class that relies heavily on memorization.
License: Free

X. Reading & Writing

Writeroom
WriteRoom is designed with easily distracted folks in mind. It's a full-screen text editor with very few features, aside from auto-save, word-count and other basic features. It's designed to keep you from checking your email, or IMs, or whatever, and it's pretty good at that. Great for when you need to just buckle down and write that paper.
License: v.2 is shareware and costs $24.95. v.1 is still around and is free

CeltX
So sayeth _rustedshut_: "This is a screenplay/script app. And it's loving awesome! Sifutoast and I have been co-writing a comedy for awhile. We really haven't been able to collaborate enough until this mother fucker came out. The script is saved on a Celtx server. You login via the app and it downloads the last saved/uploaded one. The Mac version has a great interface and an average Finder install- I'm a big fan of customized Finder backgrounds for OSX installs (Adium, Alarm Clock, Quicksilver)- There's a lot of little features we've found while writing. It uses tabbed document browsing, notes (inserted anywhere, accessible by a little icon), character and actor portfolios, customizable links in your script where you can double click and have a song, video or pic pop up and some other stuff. I was using Final Draft which costs money and not nearly as good."
License: Free

TextMate
The amount of appreciation for this program cannot be expressed enough. It's loaded with useful features, such as text autocompletion, "folding" away sections of code, and more.
License: €39, 30 day trial

CheckOff
This link is thanks to Krispy Kareem. It's a program that sits in your menu bar and functions as an expandable to-do list, quite useful to keep organised.
License: Free.

Yojimbo
I recently saw this recommended as a note organizer. It's quite worth it -- it recognizes serial codes, bookmarks, web archives, photos, and tons more to keep you organized and your information available at your command.
License: $39, one month trial

Sidenote
Sidenote is like Stickies, only far less obtrusive, and it's neat because it slides out the side of your screen like a drawer.
License: Free

Journler
Journler has taken the place of the now-pay-for MacJournal. It's prettier-looking, too.
License: Free.

VoodooPad
VooDooPad is like a non-online Wiki. It's hard to describe, but it can be used for any number of things. It's great for classes that teach lots of new, complex concepts. Although it's shareware, they also offer VoodooPad Lite, which is free but has fewer features.
License: Shareware, $24.95 to buy

SubEthaEdit
Another code editor. Its claim to fame is its collaborative editing feature, whereby Mac users can connect via Bonjour and work on the same document simultaneously.
License: Newer version costs $30, but the older version can be had on their site for free.

BBEdit
A pretty feature-rich code editor, but nothing too outstanding about it. It's just one of those programs that people seem to enjoy once they work with it for a while.
License: $199, but it has its free little cousin, TextWrangler.

XI. Widgets

iStat Nano and iStat Pro
iStat Nano has all the system information (CPU, RAM, Hard drives, Internet/Ethernet/Wireless, Uptime, Battery, Temperatures, Fan Speeds) you ever wanted inside one small widget. iStat Pro is the same but in an easier to read format, although the widget is spatially bigger as a result.
License: Free.

AppUpdate
Keep track of which of your applications have been updated, and when.
License: Free.

Image Shackle
As far as I know, no relationship whatsoever to Imageshack. This lets you quickly resize images.
License: Free.

MiniBatteryStatus
A small battery display for the Dashboard. The real grace of this one is that it can given Growl notifications when the battery is full, when you come off mains power and when the battery falls below a user-defined percentage. It's excellent for spotting that the power cable has come out without you noticing or that your battery is about to go dead.
License: Free.

Coach Potato
ArgaWarga said, "a wonderful (if slightly buggy) widget that automatically downloads TV listings for your area (US and Canada). Pretty simple to set up once you know what you're doing, just go to the website on the back of the widget and register with Zap2it labs."
License: Free.

Egg Timer Widget
It's a widget that will play a chime when the timer hits zero. It's very simplistic but if you just want a bare-bones egg timer then this does the job. For more alert and timer options, look at Minuter under the Misc. section below.
License: Free.

iCal Events
Lists all the events that you have within iCal but as a widget. If waiting 5 seconds for iCal to start is too much effort then this is what you want.
License:Free.

On Tour
ArgaWarga said, "OnTour is a simple widget that scans your iTunes library, then finds bands that are playing in your area. It also displays all the bands coming to that area, useful if you live in a distant college town like I do and want to know what local stuff is happening along with stuff in the big city."
License: Free

XII. Misc


Minuteur
Possibly the greatest eggtimer application I've ever seen. It's a doddle to set up the timer and then it can either play a sound, show a Growl notification or turn the entire screen white or black to let you know the timer has ended. The later mode will allow you to select a 5, 10 or 15 minute extension of the timer, which is a nice touch. Really worth checking out.
License: Free.

Alarm Clock 2
Simple alarm clock that will play any song, playlist or podcast in your iTunes library.
License: Free.

MP3 Alarm Clock
This is another simple alarm clock but it will run on any version of OS X since 10.2.
License: Free.

iTaf
It's another alarm that integrates with iTunes and plays music to wake you up. What more can I say?
License: Free.

XIIb. Everything else

MacSaber
Wish you were Luke, busy decapitating stormtroopers with your lightsabre before having incestuous IM conversations with your sister? Try MacSaber to turn your Macbook into a lightsabre.
License: Free.

MacFamilyTree
This is pretty decent genealogy software. Perhaps tonelok can tell us more.
License: $49

iStache
Thanks to unruly: "iStache is a simple image editor with one purpose in mind. Adding various mustaches to pictures. Man, I love Mac software "
License: Free

Meteorologist
A great program that keeps the current weather in your menu bar. Think Weatherbug, but not crap.
License: Free

Weatherman X
Squishy Buddha said, "it's free, much cooler than Meteorologist, and it'll actually work on a new installation. (Most current version of Meteorologist doesn't without a hack). It's got a bunch more features, including a Radar function within the menu.
License: 30-day trial, $10 to register

Combine PDFs
Does exactly what it says on the tin. Can also create PDFs from pictures and you can rearrange pages to suit before you save the final .PDF.
License: Free.

Mactracker
Detailed, updated, searchable database of every Apple computer (and most other Apple products) ever made.
License: Free

This article is ©2008 by the respective authors. Reproduction is prohibited without express permission from all contributors.