What's in your applications folder...
So I'm feelin' geeky today (imagine that) so I thought I'd try a meme of my own... what's in your application folder? What tools do you use that you love that you don't think other people know about, or what tools are you forced to use that you can't stand?
Acquisition
- For all my P2P file sharing needs. I used to use Poisoned but I just never seemed to get decent downloads... files would show up on a search, but just wouldn't download. eDonkey now has a version out for OS X now, and it seems to work ok.
Adobe Photoshop 7Tool of the trade. 'nuff said.
Blender3D imagine software. Downloaded it 'cause it was free and apparently really good, but I haven't a fscking clue how to use it.
Convert Script to Markup CodeConverts applescripts in the Applescript Editor to HTML code for posting on the web. Not as robust as I wish it would be (inline styles would raw my world as well as setting up some default styles) and the interface is a bit wonky, but it does the job. Go l'il trooper! Go!
FinkCommander GUI for fink, a project to port Unix software to Darwin. AKA OS X.
Garage BandI know, I know. It's part of iLife, a standard install with all Macs now, but I have to mention it anyways... I fscking LOVE it. I use it at least once a month. And once I get a MIDI to USB adapter so I can plug my synth in, I'm sure I'll be using it even more.
iEatBrainzCompares your selected mp3s with the musicbrainz database to try to correct the tag information. Doesn't always work. Doesn't let you update the MusicBrainz database with your tagged songs. Really chunks down when you've got a large database of mp3s for it to load. But it does help.
iPodderXTo automagically download podcasts for you. I'm still not sold on podcasting as yet, but that's probably because I'm more likely to listen to podcasts on the commute to work. And not having an iPod really puts the breaks on that ;)
iScrobblerAaah, iScrobbler you little minx you. I've mentioned this before but I'll repeat myself anyways. iScrobbler uploads the meta data (song title, artist, etc) to the Audioscrobbler database. Audioscrobbler then does some sweet sweet data mining to give you suggestions on other artists you might want to check out, based on your listening preferences.
But wait, there's more! Last.fm ties into the Audioscrobbler database and streams a custom audio stream of music the database feels you'll like just for you! If you're curious to what I've listened too and what last.fm has sent check out both my last.fm profile and my Audioscrobbler profile
Lotus NotesI have to use it at work, but it's certainly not by choice. Bad bad BAD interface design, and slow slow SLOW performance. I know people who work at IBM, the makers of said software, that can't stand using it. Time for a complete overhaul IBM.... PLEASE!
Mac Brick CADTotally silly, and well totally fun. CAD program to build with virtual Lego. I mean, cummon, how cool is that?! It's not all inclusive however. You still need to download the ldraw parts database for it to function, but that's a piece of cake.
MacOSaiXPhotomosaic software for OS X. There are others out there, but this one was the easiest one I found to use.
Macromedia Studio MXAgain, tools of the trade... 'nuff said
MakingMusicOnline musical instrument database. Complete with pictures, history, cross-references and sound samples. Sweeeeeeeeet.
NetNewsWire LiteMy RSS feed reader of choice, and source of endless distractions.
OmniGraffleFlowchart software, but does so much more. Logic flow, web site flow, heck even garden layout! Came free with my powerbook and I've been using it ever since.
OpenOfficeI'm poor so I can't afford the grand that MS Office would cost me, so I use Open Office instead and it hasn't failed me yet. Sure, you have to install X11, and it doesn't have a pretty Aqua interface, but who cares. It works! And I didn't have to pay 3 times my rent for a word processor and spreadsheet program.
QuarkXPressTool of the trade as well and a fcking hate it. Hell John Nash was more stable off his meds than this software. But I've bitched about Quark a lot before, so I'm not gonna do it all again here.
QuicksilverI guess the best way to describe quicksilver is to call it an application launcher... but it's oh so much more. Hit the hot key combo and type the application you want and it's there to be launched in seconds. That alone has reduced the amount of Dock clutter exponentially. But wait. There's more! Type someone's name, and Quicksilver digs into your address book, giving you easy access to the data you need. Start typing iTunes and you can browse through your playlists, albums, artists , etc just using the keyboard without iTunes. There's so much you can do, it's amazing. Like they say on the site, once you use quicksilver a mac without it feels broken. And it's so true. Imagine going back to an OS without Exposé. It makes that much of a difference.
Remote Desktop ConnectionPretty obvious. Remotely access and control a PC. I rarely have a monitor hooked up to my old pc that I use as a file server so this comes in very handy. Oh and hey, it's free!
XjournalThe software I used to keep my blog updated. Clean, simple, and robust. Tasty indeed. Fraser is the same dude that wrote flickrexport, the plug in for iPhoto I used to keep my flickr account up to date. Fraser is indeed the man.
Acquisition
- For all my P2P file sharing needs. I used to use Poisoned but I just never seemed to get decent downloads... files would show up on a search, but just wouldn't download. eDonkey now has a version out for OS X now, and it seems to work ok.
Adobe Photoshop 7Tool of the trade. 'nuff said.
Blender3D imagine software. Downloaded it 'cause it was free and apparently really good, but I haven't a fscking clue how to use it.
Convert Script to Markup CodeConverts applescripts in the Applescript Editor to HTML code for posting on the web. Not as robust as I wish it would be (inline styles would raw my world as well as setting up some default styles) and the interface is a bit wonky, but it does the job. Go l'il trooper! Go!
FinkCommander GUI for fink, a project to port Unix software to Darwin. AKA OS X.
Garage BandI know, I know. It's part of iLife, a standard install with all Macs now, but I have to mention it anyways... I fscking LOVE it. I use it at least once a month. And once I get a MIDI to USB adapter so I can plug my synth in, I'm sure I'll be using it even more.
iEatBrainzCompares your selected mp3s with the musicbrainz database to try to correct the tag information. Doesn't always work. Doesn't let you update the MusicBrainz database with your tagged songs. Really chunks down when you've got a large database of mp3s for it to load. But it does help.
iPodderXTo automagically download podcasts for you. I'm still not sold on podcasting as yet, but that's probably because I'm more likely to listen to podcasts on the commute to work. And not having an iPod really puts the breaks on that ;)
iScrobblerAaah, iScrobbler you little minx you. I've mentioned this before but I'll repeat myself anyways. iScrobbler uploads the meta data (song title, artist, etc) to the Audioscrobbler database. Audioscrobbler then does some sweet sweet data mining to give you suggestions on other artists you might want to check out, based on your listening preferences.
But wait, there's more! Last.fm ties into the Audioscrobbler database and streams a custom audio stream of music the database feels you'll like just for you! If you're curious to what I've listened too and what last.fm has sent check out both my last.fm profile and my Audioscrobbler profile
Lotus NotesI have to use it at work, but it's certainly not by choice. Bad bad BAD interface design, and slow slow SLOW performance. I know people who work at IBM, the makers of said software, that can't stand using it. Time for a complete overhaul IBM.... PLEASE!
Mac Brick CADTotally silly, and well totally fun. CAD program to build with virtual Lego. I mean, cummon, how cool is that?! It's not all inclusive however. You still need to download the ldraw parts database for it to function, but that's a piece of cake.
MacOSaiXPhotomosaic software for OS X. There are others out there, but this one was the easiest one I found to use.
Macromedia Studio MXAgain, tools of the trade... 'nuff said
MakingMusicOnline musical instrument database. Complete with pictures, history, cross-references and sound samples. Sweeeeeeeeet.
NetNewsWire LiteMy RSS feed reader of choice, and source of endless distractions.
OmniGraffleFlowchart software, but does so much more. Logic flow, web site flow, heck even garden layout! Came free with my powerbook and I've been using it ever since.
OpenOfficeI'm poor so I can't afford the grand that MS Office would cost me, so I use Open Office instead and it hasn't failed me yet. Sure, you have to install X11, and it doesn't have a pretty Aqua interface, but who cares. It works! And I didn't have to pay 3 times my rent for a word processor and spreadsheet program.
QuarkXPressTool of the trade as well and a fcking hate it. Hell John Nash was more stable off his meds than this software. But I've bitched about Quark a lot before, so I'm not gonna do it all again here.
QuicksilverI guess the best way to describe quicksilver is to call it an application launcher... but it's oh so much more. Hit the hot key combo and type the application you want and it's there to be launched in seconds. That alone has reduced the amount of Dock clutter exponentially. But wait. There's more! Type someone's name, and Quicksilver digs into your address book, giving you easy access to the data you need. Start typing iTunes and you can browse through your playlists, albums, artists , etc just using the keyboard without iTunes. There's so much you can do, it's amazing. Like they say on the site, once you use quicksilver a mac without it feels broken. And it's so true. Imagine going back to an OS without Exposé. It makes that much of a difference.
Remote Desktop ConnectionPretty obvious. Remotely access and control a PC. I rarely have a monitor hooked up to my old pc that I use as a file server so this comes in very handy. Oh and hey, it's free!
XjournalThe software I used to keep my blog updated. Clean, simple, and robust. Tasty indeed. Fraser is the same dude that wrote flickrexport, the plug in for iPhoto I used to keep my flickr account up to date. Fraser is indeed the man.