Mac Software

Last updated on February 9, 2010

I am an Apple person and have been using Mac's exclusively as my day to day machine since 2001. The Mac software below is what I use on a regular basis. Also, check out my 3rd party iPhone Software and Hardware pages.

The list below is auto-generated from my Wakoopa profile. It is a social network that installs a tracker on my machine and captures, in real-time, usage statistics on the software and cloud services that I'm using.

Connect

	Mail - apple.com - free
	Mail is a great mail client. The smart folders and advanced filtering options make it a solid email solution. I really want to move my mail solution to the cloud with Google but I just haven't been comfortable enough in terms of attachment retrieval and offline access to make the jump. However, Google is getting pretty close so I will probably make the migration soon.
	Safari - apple.com - free
	I use a variety of browsers including Firefox, Camino and Google Chrome. However, Safari is what I use day to day. I find it to be the fastest and most reliable out of the browsers that I use. In addition, it seems to work best with 1Password, which is a vital password manager that I use everyday.
	NetNewsWire - newsgator.com - free
	I use Google Reader with Feedly to consume hundreds of feeds. However, I have a handful of sites that I read every post from. For those feeds, I use NetNewsWire on my Mac (and Newsstand on my iPhone). I love the ability to seamlessly switch between my Mac and iPhone and always pick up where I left off.
	TweetDeck - tweetdeck.com - free
	This is currently my day-to-day AIR based Twitter/Facebook app of choice. TweetDeck provides a bunch of integration with third party API's such as bit.ly for getting analytics on my URLs as well as Twitscoop for viewing trends. This is the most polished Twitter/Facebook client out there right now.
	Skype - skype.com - free app, service has free and pay options
	This is an amazing app. I use it regularly to video chat with friends in other countries. Also a great way to communicate with coworkers when on the road. The recent release of an iPhone app is a great step to always have the low-cost availability of a great VOIP solution like Skype.
	Socialcast - socialcast.com - free app, service has free and pay options
	This is an AIR app for Socialcast, an enterprise collaboration tool. It's similar to Yammer in that both have been characterized as "Twitter for business." I use Socialcast as a part of The Next Web blogging team.

Manage

	OmniFocus - omnigroup.com - $79.95
	I couldn't live without this app to manage my projects and tasks. I am a huge fan of the GTD method and this app does it well. In addition, it has a great companion iPhone app which means I always have access to my tasks and projects. Data syncs over MobileMe so no need to connect the iPhone to my Mac. The other major player in this area is Things which is also a great app.
	Evernote - evernote.com - free or $5/month for premium account
	Evernote's mission statement is to be your extra brain...and they do a pretty good job. Describing what Evernote is is hard because it is so many things. It's essentially a storage center in the cloud where you can throw and then retrieve anything you want - forever. I strongly believe that if most people used this app, they would find that a bunch of web services and apps they currently use would become obsolete. The Mac plus iPhone app make this solution something I believe will be with me for the rest of my life.
	iCal - apple.com - free
	Utility lies in simplicity and this app exemplifies that. Does exactly what it's supposed to do, keeps calendars in order and syncs with my iPhone over MobileMe. I don't use the to do features of iCal - I use OmniFocus for that.
	Address Book - apple.com - free
	Another great simple Mac app that does it's one function and does it very well. What is great about Apple's Address Book is that it syncs with my Google Contacts. This is very useful as a Google Voice user.
	iPhoto - apple.com - free with new Mac or part of iLife '09 ($79)
	I was an Aperture 2 user until I stopped pretending I was worthy of the prosumer program and stepped back down to iPhoto '09. It's a great app and has a lot of cool features such as the integration with social media properties like Flickr and Facebook. It works perfectly and does a great job of syncing with my iPhone an Apple TVs.
	iTunes - apple.com - free
	Great app - I have it open all day. However, it will be interesting to see how iTunes evolves as web based services like Pandora become more popular. In addition, subscription based services (no matter what Steve Jobs says) are going to be the de facto standard going forward (IMHO). It will be interesting to see how iTunes changes as a result. On a side note, CoverSutra is my must have iTunes controller (listed below).

Idea Organization

	Curio - zengobi.com - $99 (Standard version) or $149 (Premium version)
	This is quite frankly an amazing app for creative types that want to capture ideas without having to be confined to the methodology of a more specialized app. You can use this app for creating mindmaps, generating lists and general idea collection. What's great about this app is the simplicity by which anything can go in and and come out. It also integrates with Evernote which is great.
	OmniOutliner - omnigroup.com - $39.95
	This is a great idea organization app for making complex outlines of information. I use this often when researching or for compiling information that can be organized in a structured way. What I really enjoy about this app is that although it's an outlining/list app - it has great flexibility. You can drop most any type of media into it.
	OmniGraffle - omnigroup.com - $99.95
	This is a great app for diagramming and mindmapping. I am a huge fan of OmniGroup's software and this is no exception. It also has a variety of exporting options so you can do a lot of cool stuff with it. If you want a dedicated mind mapping software on the Mac, this is definitely the one that I would recommend.
	Balsamiq Mockups - balsamiq.com - $79
	This app has become my wireframing app of choice. It's an Adobe AIR app that is very easy to use. I do enjoy OmniGraffle but find I can create mockups faster and easier using Balsamiq. Its sketch type graphics have you focusing on the mockup and not the design.

Working with Text

	InDesign - adobe.com - $699
	The de facto desktop publishing app out there. I use InDesign on a daily basis for a variety of things. It is a great program that I couldn't live without. I started using InDesign in CS2 and it keeps on getting better with every version Adobe puts out.
	TextMate - macromates.com - $57
	I am gradually moving away from Dreamweaver and to TextMate as my text editor of choice. It's much more light weight and as I become more comfortable as a web developer it's a far superior app to use.
	WriteRoom - hogbaysoftware.com - $24.95
	This is a great word processing application. It simply gives you a full screen writing environment with only a blinking curser. When I just want to write and be free of all the distractions my computer has to offer, I use WriteRoom.
	Final Draft - finaldraft.com - $249
	FD is my screenwriting app of choice for the Mac. The other major player in this area is Montage. I am an aspiring screenwriter of sorts and really enjoy using this app - especially FD 8, which came out in May of 2009.
	Dreamweaver - adobe.com - $399
	I would call myself a casual coder so I like the WYSIWYG aspect to Dreamweaver. However, I do know enough to be able to get into the code and remove some of the bloat that Dreamweaver throws in there. I am gradually moving away from this app and tending to use TextMate more and more.
	Coda - panic.com - $99
	Coda is a great general web development tool that I use to update websites that I manage. It is a great text editor and FTP client. The other app out there that is similar is Macrabbit's Espresso. Although Coda does have a CSS editor built in, I actually use Macrabbit's CSSEdit (below) for writing CSS.
	CSSEdit - macrabbit.com - $39
	This is probably my favorite web development tool that I use. Creating CSS couldn't be easier with this app. It allows you to live preview changes to you make to your CSS code as well as extract and experiment with the CSS of any site on the web. Truly an amazing app and also a great learning tool if you are not a CSS wizard.

Working with Images

	Photoshop - adobe.com - $699
	Photoshop really needs no explanation. It is the flagship product of Adobe and if you do anything in the area of graphic design you have this program. I love this app, especially the improvements that came in CS4.
	Illustrator - adobe.com - $599
	Along with InDesign, this is the CS4 app that I use most often. I do a lot of logo development work and this app gives me the power to do a lot of cool things.
	Picturesque - acqualia.com - $34.95
	Everything that can be done with this app can be done with Photoshop. However, what's great about this app is how quickly you can make adjustments to images. It's great if your short on time and want to spice up an image without having to launch Photoshop.
	Skitch - plasq.com - free
	I still don't understand why this is a free app but I'm no complaining. I don't use it as my screen capture program - I use Snapz Pro (below) for that. However, I do use it if I want to make quick annotations on top of a screen capture before I send it to someone. Truly a slick app.

Working with Video

	Flash - adobe.com - $699
	I am not really a Flash person but I have dabbled in it and created a couple product tutorials and some other miscellaneous stuff. I find the program very intuitive and easy to use on the surface but offers a lot of dynamic customization when you get under the hood with action script.
	Final Cut Pro - apple.com - included in Final Cut Studio ($999)
	This is a more recent edition to my design repertoire. I am more of a print and web designer but I am trying to add video to my game. I really enjoy the power of this program and the entire Final Cut Studio.
	Motion - apple.com - included in Final Cut Studio ($999)
	I am rather new to Motion (bought in July of '09). I am really liking it so far and find it very intuitive and powerful for creating pretty amazing looking motion graphics and animations. As I mentioned above in my blurb about Final Cut Pro, video and animation is something I'm new to but I'm picking it up fairly quickly thanks to Lynda.
	Screenflow - telestream.net - $99.99
	If you do screencasts on a Mac there is simply no other solution worth talking about. This is the app, period. It's $99 but I would pay $300 for what this app can do. A must have for anyone doing screencasts.

Working with Sound

	WireTap Studio - ambrosiasw.com - $69
	I don't often have to capture audio but when I do, this is what I use. Select any source (an open app, an internal/external mic) and click record. You can then export out using any compression technology and at any bitrate. It stores the master lossless file so you can always save it out in another format without degradation. Another great Ambrosia app.
	Soundtrack Pro - apple.com - included in Final Cut Studio ($999)
	Soundtrack Pro is a tremendously powerful audio editing app. For the audio stuff that I have to do, Garageband would be fine. However, this app is part of the Final Cut Studio package so I use this for any audio editing I need to do.

Presentation Tools

I'm also a heavy user of online web based presentation tools such as Prezi and SlideRocket among others.

	Keynote - apple.com - $79 (part of iWork '09)
	After using PowerPoint for many years it is very refreshing to be using Keynote full time. It is much better than PowerPoint and makes making presentations a more enjoyable experience. The export options also give you a lot of flexibility in delivering presentations in a variety of formats. It will be interesting to see how Keynote fits in going forward as online solutions get better and better.
	FotoMagico - boinx.com - $29 (Home version) or $149 (Pro version)
	I came to this app out of a need to create a photo slideshow that was a little bit more sophisticated than iPhoto or Aperture could offer. If you are a professional photographer or just want to create a little bit more compelling photo slideshow, this app is for you.
	Timeline 3D - beedocs.com - $65
	This a great app for creating dynamic and very visually compelling timelines. It is one of those specialized apps that you might not need to use that often but go out of your way to figure out ways to try to use it. If you have to display timeline based information this is a must have. It also integrates with Keynote and can be exported as a video. Timelines have never been so much fun with this app.

OS Enhancements

	Path Finder - cocoatech.com - $39.95
	This is one of the handful of apps that I must have on any machine I'm working on. It is a Finder replacement and is pretty much the Finder on steroids. I think the Finder is probably the one aspect of OSX that needs to be completely re-written, I think it's terrible. Thank god for Path Finder.
	1Password - agilewebsolutions.com - $39.95
	This is essentially a replacement for Apple's Keychain but it is also much more than that. For someone like me who has 50 million online accounts and signs up for every web service that props up, this is a must have program.
	Snapz Pro X - ambrosiasw.com - $69
	I use this screen capturing app at least 10 times per day. It's one of my must have programs on any machine I'm using. Abrosia Software makes great stuff and this program is no exception. Unlike other programs that want you to take the screenshot, upload to the web or perhaps make a bunch annotations, this focuses on it's core functionality and does a great job.
	Layers - layersapp.com - $24.95
	This is a great app that I use if taking specialized screenshots. It basically takes a screen grab of your entire screen and gives you a Photoshop file with every element on the screen in a separate layer. Layers are also organized by folders based on the type of screen element. This is a must have if creating tutorials or other marketing material that includes screenshots.
	CoverSutra - sophiestication.com - $14.95
	I know some may see this pay app and say "why not just use Quicksilver which is free". My simple answer is that I prefer apps that do one thing and do that one thing really well. CoverSutra is a great iTunes controller and allows me to create the simple system wide controls that I need. I have used almost all of the free and pay iTunes controllers and this one is by far the best.
	iClipboard - chronosnet.com - $29.99
	This is a great clipboard manager that gives me access to all prior copy/cut/paste activity on my Mac. It allows me to maintain multiple clipboards and also displays text and image clippings with Quick Look.
	TextExpander - smileonmymac.com - $29.99
	A tremendously useful program that turns abbreviations into predefined text or image strings. I use this application dozens of times a day. It's uses are limitless. I use it all the time for Google search syntax for example.
	Default Folder X - stclairsoft.com - $34.95
	A very useful program that adds a lot of great functionality to the "Save As" dialogue box. There is one feature alone that makes this app worth it. Basically I can select the target save location of a file simply by hovering over a directory that is currently open in a finder window.
	Name Mangler - manytricks.com - free
	You can't find a better batch file renaming utility than this one. It's free and does it better than any pay app on the market. I have a variety of droplets setup which allow predetermined naming conventions to be applied. It also works with Automator.
	CandyBar - panic.com - $29
	This is a great app that I use to customize my icons and other system elements in OSX. I like to really create a custom looking work environment and this app is great for that purpose. It also serves as a great library manager for all of the third party icons that I accumulate.
	xScope - iconfactory.com - $26.95
	I use this app all the time to do a variety of things. It basically overlays guides and other very useful information while I am designing for print or for web. It also has a great UI which is expected since it's a product of Iconfactory.
	AppZapper - appzapper.com - $12.95
	I'm still confused as to why Apple doesn't have a program uninstaller on the Mac - it kind of baffles me. In any event, simply moving an app to the trash does not delete it. Preference files and other support files still exist. AppZapper solves the problem - drag any app onto it and it tells you all of the files on your computer that are associated with the program - and then allowing you to remove all of them in one click. This app, and others like it, are key to ensuring that when you delete an app you are truly deleting it.
	Caffeine - lightheadsw.com - free
	This is a dead simple yet extremely useful app. All it does when activated is keep your monitor awake no matter what. It overrides all energy settings that I have. I use this app when I'm giving a presentation or in a meeting and I want to ensure that my computer does not go to sleep or that my monitor dims.
	SoundSource - rogueamoeba.com - free
	SoundSource is an amazingly simple but extremely useful Menu Bar App. It places a little drop down in the Menu Bar that gives you quick access to your Input, Output and System volume and source settings. I often adjust and change all of these things and it's great to not have to go digging in System Preferences to adjust them.
	Fluid - fluidapp.com - free
	Fluid is a great app based on WebKit for creating site specific apps that reside in either your dock or menu bar. You can fully customize the dimensions and look and feel of the app window buy using custom user scripts. This is really useful because lot of what I use on a regular basis are web apps. This gives me quick access to them as an app.
	MAMP - mamp.info - free (Standard version) or $59.67 (Pro version)
	For day to day site updates there is really no need to use MAMP. However, if I am working on a major site redesign or developing a new site I will use MAMP to map and render PHP and HTML sites locally. I prefer using this app instead of setting up a subdomain for a development site and constantly have to upload files to a server.
	Growl - growl.info - free
	Growl is a must have app to keep track of what's happening on your Mac. It offers temporary pop up dialogue boxes based on a variety of activity happening on your Mac including incoming, device connections, system activity etc...
	AppFresh - metaquark.de - free
	This is a great app to keep your applications up to date. It scans your entire application library and shows you what applications are not up to date. It then gives you the ability to auto-update all of the applications that aren't currently up to date with on click.
	iStat Menus - islayer.com - free
	I use iStat Menus because I enjoy having a couple of key items in my Menu Bar including up/down bandwidth speed, memory usage and a more robust calendar with multiple time zones. This is a great app and you can't beat the free price.
	Blackout 3 - bravobug.com - $9
	This is a must have app if you leave your computer on at night by your bed or if you work in very low light conditions. The app allows you to lower the screen's brightness below its natural capabilities.

Entertainment

	PandoraJam - bitcartel.com - $15
	I am a HUGE Pandora fan. PandoraJam is basically a Pandora client that enables you to play Pandora via a native Mac app. Since PandoraJam is a native Mac app I am able to program keystrokes to it to play/pause, skip song etc... This can't be done when playing Pandora through the browser or by using Pandora's AIR app.

Backup

In addition to the apps below, I also use Backblaze as my off-site solution of choice. Check out my cloud Cloud Services page for more info.

	SuperDuper! - shirt-pocket.com - $27.95
	SuperDuper is THE solution to use if you want an imaged backup of your Mac's internal drive. If your internal drive fails - boot from your SuperDuper imaged drive to essentially have your identical machine up and running. SuperDuper is free. However, if you want to use Smart backups (i.e. updates only the changes when creating an updated image) you must buy the app.
	Time Machine - apple.com - free
	I rarely ever delete something I don't later need but it does happen occasionally. When it does, Time Machine is a lifesaver. With a very slick interface that all Mac users will be used to there is really no excuse to not use this app as it's free.