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MacNoobGuy

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 18, 2012
497
0
Hey guys, I just wanted to know if someone could list the most useful Apps that are only available on OSX.

Thanks!
 

onekerato

macrumors regular
Jun 6, 2011
222
1
Er... what Kissaragi probably means is that with the ability to run Windows inside Mac OS X, you have the option to run the best of windows and best of Mac software on your Mac. That's pretty cool.

That said, my list of great Mac OS X software:
* VMWare Fusion/Parallels
* Carbon Copy Cloner/SuperDuper
* OmniPresence
* DevonThink
* PhoneView
* iMovie/Final Cut Pro X & Motion
* GarageBand
* iBooks Author & Keynote
* ScreenFlow
* Curio
* Fantastical
* TaskPaper & Folding Text
* Hype
* iGlasses & Skype Call Recorder
* Keyboard Maestro
* Leap
* Mindnode Pro
* Circus Ponies Notebook/NoteTaker
* nvALT/Notational Velocity
* OmniFocus/Things & OmniGraffle & OmniOutliner
* Skim
* TextExpander
* Tweetbot
* VoodooPad

Macs also have lots of excellent utilities such as Moom or Divvy, Boom, PopClip, ScreenFloat, Little Snitch, LaunchBar or Alfred, Name Mangler, StreamToMe

A few apps which are now cross-platform but got famous on Mac OS X
* Scrivener
* 1Password
* Reflector/AirServer
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,545
943
Hey guys, I just wanted to know if someone could list the most useful Apps that are only available on OSX.

Thanks!
As many apps now have versions available on other platforms, there is no benefit in limiting yourself to apps that only run on one platform. A better approach is to determine what you want to accomplish, then find apps that accommodate those needs, whether or not they have versions available on other platforms.
 

MacNoobGuy

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 18, 2012
497
0
As many apps now have versions available on other platforms, there is no benefit in limiting yourself to apps that only run on one platform. A better approach is to determine what you want to accomplish, then find apps that accommodate those needs, whether or not they have versions available on other platforms.

Alright, thanks. This helps me a lot!

----------

Er... what Kissaragi probably means is that with the ability to run Windows inside Mac OS X, you have the option to run the best of windows and best of Mac software on your Mac. That's pretty cool.

That said, my list of great Mac OS X software:
* VMWare Fusion/Parallels
* Carbon Copy Cloner/SuperDuper
* OmniPresence
* DevonThink
* PhoneView
* iMovie/Final Cut Pro X & Motion
* GarageBand
* iBooks Author & Keynote
* ScreenFlow
* Curio
* Fantastical
* TaskPaper & Folding Text
* Hype
* iGlasses & Skype Call Recorder
* Keyboard Maestro
* Leap
* Mindnode Pro
* Circus Ponies Notebook/NoteTaker
* nvALT/Notational Velocity
* OmniFocus/Things & OmniGraffle & OmniOutliner
* Skim
* TextExpander
* Tweetbot
* VoodooPad

Macs also have lots of excellent utilities such as Moom or Divvy, Boom, PopClip, ScreenFloat, Little Snitch, LaunchBar or Alfred, Name Mangler, StreamToMe

A few apps which are now cross-platform but got famous on Mac OS X
* Scrivener
* 1Password
* Reflector/AirServer

Thanks, that's a detailed list. I'll need some time to go through it!
 

mtngoatjoe

macrumors 6502
Jun 10, 2008
270
56
iLife and iWork.

I'm a huge fan of Numbers; it's so much better than for Excel for formatting data (though Excel is still king when it comes to number crunching).

I use iPhoto to create calenders for family every Christmas. I haven't seen any other solution that does as nice a job as easily as iPhoto for creating calendars.
 

Kissaragi

macrumors 68020
Nov 16, 2006
2,340
370
Er... what Kissaragi probably means is that with the ability to run Windows inside Mac OS X, you have the option to run the best of windows and best of Mac software on your Mac.

Not what i meant. I was wondering why the op was after osx exclusive apps only. What I wrote infact.
 

kanon14

macrumors regular
Jan 28, 2008
228
5
Hong Kong
onekerato has already mentioned it but I want to point out if you do any writing at all, use Scrivener. It's a great word processing app that let you manage your whole project at one place (novels, screenplays, research papers, etc.). I started using this app in Mac couple years ago then I switched back to Windows for a year or so. I used the Windows counterpart but it's nothing like the Mac version. In fact, I just bought the new rMBP so that I can go back to this app.
 

xspicer89x

macrumors member
Oct 28, 2013
36
0
some apps that havnt already been mentioned

AppCleaner --- the proper way to delete apps (deletes all the files that simply dragging to trash doesn't)

Bartender --- tidy up your menu bar (bartender sits in your menu bar and can act as a "second menu bar" to help reduce clutter and those items not used often)

***BetterTouchTool*** --- A MUST HAVE. have full customization control over your keyboard and trackpad as well as window management. SOOOOO MANY MORE GESTURE CONTROLS THAN WHAT APPLE OFFERS. Not only that but you can have gestures send specific keyboard shortcuts to specific apps (so in a sense controlling specific apps with specific touchpad gesture controls). Also allows customization of other devices such as apple mouse, apple remote, normal mouse, and has an ios counterpart to help control your mac from your phone (good for lying in bed and controlling mac/second display).

***CupCloud*** --- Ever been in the middle of doing work (having a bunch of safari tabs open, along with microsoft word or excel or powerpoints open) and wish you could save what you have open so that you could come back to this exact point at a later time ? That is exactly what CupCloud does. It works like the "re-open when loggin back-in" feature of OS X except that you can save different "cups" to be re-opened. Have a separate cup for each of your current projects, and access them anytime (their in the cloud!!!)

Fluid --- fluid allows you to literally make apps out of your often used webpages (ex, I made a facebook app and a youtube app, as well as one for my university page). Very handy if there are a few sites u use quite often.

***Flux*** --- adjust the color of your computer's display to adapt to the time of day, warm at night and like sunlight during the day. Very handy for at night, instead of staring at and being blinded by a bright blue screen (even at minimal brightness), the warm tint will help you relieve some of the headaches and lack of sleep you get by staring at your screen at nightime. Also works when you have a second monitor attached (very very useful for when you have your tv hooked up to your computer late at night).

IDocument2 --- round up all of the documents on your system and have them organized into a single spot (does not create duplicates, and can create "virtual folders" just like finder creates smart folders--i.e without affecting the hierarchy already established).

OmniDiskSweeper --- look at where all of your harddrive space is going (even that pesky "other" category). Very useful if you have things eating up space that you just cant seem to find and need to get rid of.

Skitch --- if youve ever taken a screenshot then this app is useful, as it allows you to make annotations and resave the changes onto the screenshot for sharing with others (or just for your own benefit if you need to remember something later on about this specific screenshot).

Pocket --- its like "read-it-later" on steroids, and has an ios counterpart. Save a webpage you come across so that you can have it in your pocket at all times, whether your at your mac without internet or on your ios device.

Trickster --- quick access to all of your "recently used" (you can have it show files, apps, music, web pages, whatever you have used, or your select favorites). lives in the menu bar.
 
Last edited:

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,545
943
AppCleaner --- the proper way to delete apps (deletes all the files that simply dragging to trash doesn't)
Actually, it doesn't. If you elect to use such apps, be aware that in most cases, app removal software doesn't do a thorough job of finding and removing files/folders related to deleted apps. For more information, read this and this. If you just want to delete the app, drag the .app file to the trash. No other software needed. If you want to completely remove all associated files/folders, no removal apps will do the job.
The most effective method for complete app removal is manual deletion:
 

50548

Guest
Apr 17, 2005
5,039
2
Currently in Switzerland
A thread like this used to make a lot of sense in the times of System 7, Mac OS 8 and so on...back then, Macs and Windows PCs lived in almost totally different software universes.

Now everything is pretty much standardized/cross-platform, particularly after the migration of Macs to Intel processors...I have a hard time identifying stuff/features that are available only on Macs nowadays.
 
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