If you have the free version of Alfred and like it, you should check out the power packs for Alfred. It makes an awesome app incredible.
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What apps are essential for a new Mac to have?
- Thread starter Mezmorizor
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If you have the free version of Alfred and like it, you should check out the power packs for Alfred. It makes an awesome app incredible.
See my list here: http://almy.us/macsoftware.html
It isn't a Maximize button but an "Optimize" button. Just think of it that way. If you want something truly maximized, consider the full screen mode, if available, using the double-headed arrow in the upper right corner of the window.
All the "missing" PC keys are accessible using the Fn key, not just Fn-Backspace for Delete. Also check out "Keyboard Shortcuts" in Help.
very cool - thanks for the link. i'm always looking for ways to be more efficient... i have severe ADD and it has been a lifelong struggle to control it.
"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe."
~Abraham Lincoln
Password Keeper
I used to use LastPass, but switched a few months ago to Dashlane. It's free for 1 device, and will sync unlimited cross-platform for $20/year. I really love it.
https://www.dashlane.com/en/cs/3ba005d1
I used to use LastPass, but switched a few months ago to Dashlane. It's free for 1 device, and will sync unlimited cross-platform for $20/year. I really love it.
https://www.dashlane.com/en/cs/3ba005d1
Before getting DiskWarrior I would read up on it. There are strong mixed reactions to newer versions.
I just upgraded to TechTools 7. Thankfully I've not had to use it much.
For a password manager my choice is 1Password. They just released version 4 and there is a special price in the app store I believe.
For financial I use MoneyDance.
I have both Office 2008 and an OpenOffice based app called NeoOffice (no longer freeware BTW).
My creative side is photography so those tools may not be of interest to you.
I just upgraded to TechTools 7. Thankfully I've not had to use it much.
For a password manager my choice is 1Password. They just released version 4 and there is a special price in the app store I believe.
For financial I use MoneyDance.
I have both Office 2008 and an OpenOffice based app called NeoOffice (no longer freeware BTW).
My creative side is photography so those tools may not be of interest to you.
Yes, I have been using 1Password for three years. Well worth the money.
Check out LibreOffice, it is free and in v. 4 has improved considerably.
For writing, Scrivener is essential. For three years I used it for editing a magazine, worked like a charm. I am now putting the entire seminary curriculum and course materials into Scrivener. And I write my blog posts for three separate blogs. Convenient, easy, reliable. You can export to .doc, .docx, .rtf formats.
An excellent word processor is Nisus Writer Pro, which I use for general use. If I have to use Hebrew, then Mellel is my choice, superb, powerful, and rock-solid.
At one time I had Adobe Creative Suite 4 Premium, but gave it to my son and his family. For replacements, I have Pixelmator for photo work, and PDFPen Pro for PDF work.
For high powered note taking, thinking, and more, consider Tinderbox. Expensive, but its expendability will far outreach any use you have.
Depository and storage, DevonThink Pro Office.
For bibliography I use Bookends, for seamless integration with NWP and Mellel.
Utilities I have found useful:
Caffeine
Flux
InfoClick (find any email with extensive options for searching. So much better than search in Mail.app. Has been a life saver Ina few cases)
TextExpander, invaluable for all the writing I do.
For Web Surfing; I was going to say Chrome, but I see you are already using/or planning on using Chrome:
Have a look at Moom. It's a neat little utility that you can use for automatically resizing and relocating windows. It would be nice if some of these things were built in to OS X like they are in Windows, but this helps out somewhat.
I am a big fan of Keka. It's a wrapper around 7zip, which is an app I put by default on every PC Win/Linux box as well.
TextWrangler is another default. Whether I'm actually writing scripting or writing a journal, it's nice to have a text editor which lets you see exactly what you have typed, with no formatting. It's also one of my favorite apps just for scrolling through texts.
Gimp and Seashell have come a long way. Seashell is appropriate to install on any generic install, just so the end user has some application to open/resize various image formats. Gimp is a big footprint, but if you want to touch up images or play with something photoshop-like, it's a no-brainer.
Personally, I have found OpenOffice to be more stable than LibreOffice, but one or the other are a must-do.
I also always install VLC because sometimes I like to listen to a single audio track without the rattle and clatter of iTunes starting up and shoving it's store right in my face.
Am I the only person who finds that Quicksilver gives me more options than Alfred? Maybe I need to look harder at Alfred.
Thanks for the note on Onyx. I have recommended people look into it if they want to monkey with cleaning their system. I haven't seen it do much of anything myself, so it's good to know others have found it redundant.
I also run McAfee (provided by my employer) if only to prevent being a carrier of anything that might end up on a PC.
TextWrangler is another default. Whether I'm actually writing scripting or writing a journal, it's nice to have a text editor which lets you see exactly what you have typed, with no formatting. It's also one of my favorite apps just for scrolling through texts.
Gimp and Seashell have come a long way. Seashell is appropriate to install on any generic install, just so the end user has some application to open/resize various image formats. Gimp is a big footprint, but if you want to touch up images or play with something photoshop-like, it's a no-brainer.
Personally, I have found OpenOffice to be more stable than LibreOffice, but one or the other are a must-do.
I also always install VLC because sometimes I like to listen to a single audio track without the rattle and clatter of iTunes starting up and shoving it's store right in my face.
Am I the only person who finds that Quicksilver gives me more options than Alfred? Maybe I need to look harder at Alfred.
Thanks for the note on Onyx. I have recommended people look into it if they want to monkey with cleaning their system. I haven't seen it do much of anything myself, so it's good to know others have found it redundant.
I also run McAfee (provided by my employer) if only to prevent being a carrier of anything that might end up on a PC.
Thanks for the F.lux tip, awesome with my new Haswell 15" Retina!
For people using Dropbox, I HIGHLY recommend Barracuda Networks' Copy App, especially during their beta storage bonanza. It's Dropbox, with desktop/mobile/web apps, but you start with 15gb! And use my referral link to get 5gb extra for yourself, so 20gb to start! Then sign up your mom, wife, roommate, etc, and you can get to 40-50gb easy. Crazy while it lasts...
I also love:
Chrome
Omnifocus
VM Fusion 6 (w Windows 8 virtual machine)
Hazel
Found
Bartender
AppCleaner
BetterSnap
Autograph
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Why? There really is no alternative. Its the most popular document format and essential for many. I asked this same question because I thought I could use the old Pages, and the consensus was Office.
Because for 90% of users, you don't need even 20% of what Office actually offers. It's like everybody getting a truck. Yeah, some people do need a truck to carry all their stuff. Most people can do with a car, though.
It's not just a matter of using all the features of MS Office. There are also factors such as compatibility when sharing files with others, familiarity, portability of files to other systems, etc.
Ah, okay.
Yeah, it can get annoying to have to export again if I make a change. -_-