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Researching Mac OS X Software Setup

E

ewiley28

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 7, 2008
20
0
Austin, TX
I made the decision to switch to a Macbook Pro a few weeks ago and began the process of researching that would enable me to make the transition. My research definitely isn't done, but I went ahead and ordered it anyway. It's a Macbook Pro 15” 2.5 GHz 4 gig memory 200 gig @ 7200 Matte screen with iWork, Final Cut express and Mobile Me added.

I have identified many potential programs, but in many categories I have only been able to identify a couple options rather than figure out what the selection should be. If you have any familiarity, feedback, or suggestions about any of these programs, please let me know! This first list is programs that I've reviewed and categorized and am considering making a part of my tool set.

Webeditor/blog:
www.karelia.com
Rapidweaver

FTP:
Yummyftp
Cyberduck http://cyberduck.ch/
Extendmac.com/flow

Torrent:
Transmission: http://transmission.m0k.org/

Browser:
Firefox
http://www.igetter.net/ maybe if using enough safari
Inquisitor http://www.newsfirex.com/blog/ also for safari
Saft: http://haoli.dnsalias.com/Saft/index.html extensions for safari

RSS reader:
Netnewsreader
Or just stick with Google Reader and iGoogle

Mail addons:
http://www.bronsonbeta.com/mailappetizer/
Other addons http://www.tikouka.net/mailapp/

Chat:
Adium (look at it. Might stick with ichat, but look)

Screen capture: (not sure why I think I need this, but there are such cool options)
Screenflow www.varasoftware.com/products/screenflow/
Whole webpage captures: http://www.derailer.org/paparazzi/
Whole website captures: http://www.sitesucker.us/home.html
Snapz pro x http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/snapzprox/

App Launcher:
Quicksilver http://theappleblog.com/quicksilver-the-guide/

Appearance:
http://www.iwascoding.com/UnCoverIt/
Neat desktop: http://macrabbit.com/deskshade/
http://www.panic.com/candybar/
Dock dividers: http://www.artofadambetts.com/archives/000046.html
Pixadex http://www.iconfactory.com/px_home.asp

Useful across purposes:
Sidenote: http://www.chatelp.org/?s=Sidenote
Growl!: http://www.growl.info/about.php
Sofa Control: http://www.caseapps.com/sofacontrol.html
Wordservice: http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/10398

Video stuff:
VLC http://www.videolan.org/
Handbrake http://handbrake.m0k.org/
Video record w/ teleprompter: www.software.com/products/videocue/
http://www.flip4mac.com/wmv.htm maybe, but i think vlc will address this need

Backup (think about having something bootable):
http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html
backitymac
http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html
Carbon copy cloner http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html

Utilities/Performance/Maintenance: (bootable backup first)
Menumeters http://www.ragingmenace.com/software/menumeters/
Onyx http://www.titanium.free.fr/pgs2/english/download.html
Main menu http://www.santasw.com/
Tinkertool http://www.bresink.com/osx/TinkerTool.html
menumeter
Appzapper http://appzapper.com/ (check appdelete)
Diskutility http://guides.macrumors.com/Disk_Utility
virus thing http://www.clamxav.com/
hard drive issues http://homepage.mac.com/julianmayer/smartreporter/index.html

Slim os – remove architecture, languages, etc. . . http://guides.macrumors.com/Mac_OS_X_On_A_Diet
http://xslimmer.com/ - easier for basic users
http://monolingual.sourceforge.net/

Virtualization:
VMware Fusion

Trackpad things:
http://greg.vario.us/cornerclick/
http://www.ragingmenace.com/software/sidetrack/
http://www.bitart.com/CocoaGestures.html

Organization:
http://www.busymac.com/
http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omniplan/

Random:
Finance manager – Squirrel
Timeline software – http://www.beedocuments.com/index.php
Wikipedia pathway – http://pathway.screenager.be/about-pathway/
Media Library – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delicious_Library/
Keychain alternative – http://www.waterfallsw.com/wallet/
Spam Sieve http://c-command.com/spamsieve/
White and Pink noise: http://www.blackholdmedia.com/noise/
Dvd and Cd burning: Toast Titanium




I also have a list of "random" programs that I saw enough about to be interested in, but have not researched at this time. If you have a reason to include or stay the heck away from one of these, I'd love to hear your thoughts as well!

http://www.acqualia.com/picturesque/
http://www.thelittleappfactory.com/application.php?app=Connoisseur
http://www.omnigroup.com/
http://jerakeen.org/code/shelf
http://www.barebones.com/products/yojimbo/index.shtml
http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.asp?p=31932&rl=1
http://www.silverspider.com/2007/os-x-software-and-widgets/
MactheRipper http://www.mactheripper.org/
Audio hijack
Witch http://www.manytricks.com/witch/
http://homepage.mac.com/julianmayer/smartreporter/index.html
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/23049
Screen sieve
FolderShare http://foldershare.com
MindNode – mind mapping
Filemagnet
Tofu
Aurora
Cocktail http://www.maintain.se/cocktail/index.php
Voodoo pad http://www.flyingmeat.com/voodoopad.html
Déjà vu
Diskinventory x
Desktastic
Sailing clicker http://homepage.mac.com/jonassalling/Shareware/Clicker/
Supercal http://www.bergdesign.com/supercal/
Anxiety http://www.anxietyapp.com/
Caffiene http://lightheadsw.com/caffeine/
http://www.conceptdraw.com/en/products/mindmap/main.php
Skim for PDFs http://skim-app.sourceforge.net/index.html !!
http://haoli.dnsalias.com/Saft/index.html
http://www.smileonmymac.com/TextExpander/
Timetoast www.timetoast.com



Last, but not least, I'd love any recommendations of feeds that provide useful user tips, software information or other mac-centric updates that produce a reasonable quantity of information. Lifehacker always contains some information, but what are some other good feeds? Ideally, I'm looking for ones that are no more than 3-4 posts a day and would be happy with ones that had good, infrequent (less than 1 post/day on average) posts, but I'm open to any recommendations from your experience and expertise.


Thanks for any thoughts and your help in making this transition to the Mac world the best possible!
 
The good news is that this subject has been discussed repeatedly in dozens of threads in the forums, so you can get a much faster response if, before starting a new repetitive thread, you'll first use this link to search the forums to see what has already been discussed. If you don't find your answer there, let us know and we'll be happy to help! :)
 
Not needing hand holding.. just looking for individual feedback

I actually have already worked through both of those links among my research. I’m not looking for a certain list or anything. My reason for posting this was mainly to get responses from individuals who happen to be shockingly passionate about one program or another. I’ve read the various software websites as well as a pretty good chunk of the Mac fan sites, for someone who’s only been looking into Macs for less than a month at least. I was not meaning to offend anyone for a basic post. But the bit of information that I haven’t come across yet is individual people’s passion.

So, please feel free to ignore this if you don’t have a certain spark for a product that you just have to pass along. I’m not looking for basic help to make sure that I get my machine turned on. I’m sure that I will get it working well and finetune the connections between my software relatively rapidly. But if there is some thought that’s burning a whole in you that you need to share, I’d appreciate your time and experience.
 
No, you haven't offended anyone. We're just trying to help. These subjects are discussed in multiple threads over time, and those who are passionate about different programs weigh in on those threads. It's just a faster and simpler process to search the forums first, to see what they've already said, rather than having to wait for them to find your new thread and then repeat everything for the 23rd time. You get faster results without waiting. But if you'd rather not, it's up to you.
 
I definitely understand the value of searching forums and researching old threads as well as tracking posts from users who I notice consistently provide information that helps me in this process. I guess I viewed this post as basically a craps shoot. Nothing may turn up, but I might get information that I'd been unable to find in various site's documentation or forums.
 
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