subject: 10 Popular Apps For Mac Users [print this page] Below are 10 popular applications for mac OS X. most of them are free now..Keep these apps handy on a CD or DVD for the next time you do a clean install""they're that good.
1. Quicksilver
quicksilver is a computer utility software program for Mac OS X, made by Blacktree Software and distributed freely. It is essentially a graphical shell for the OS X operating system aimed at increasing user efficiency. It allows users to use the keyboard to rapidly perform tasks such as launching applications, manipulating files and data, running scripts, or sending e-mail. It is similar to the Mac OS X applications LaunchBar and Butler, but uses a different interaction paradigm. Although it is a complex application, it is centered on a simple three-panel interface, called the "command window": the user performs complex tasks using simple, configurable key-combinations.
2. TextWrangler
TextWrangler is a text editor for Mac OS X from Bare Bones Software. It was originally a commercial product, but (beginning with version 2.0) has become the freeware alternative to their flagship editor, BBEdit, and the successor to their previous freeware editor, BBEdit Lite.
Like BBEdit, TextWrangler is not a word processor and so lacks formatting and style options "" it is limited to editing and manipulation of plain text, but while this limits desktop publications, it allows for much greater power and flexibility editing text. TextWrangler has features common to most programming text editors, such as syntax highlighting for various programming languages, a find and replace function, spell check, and file comparison. But TextWrangler also includes extensive scripting support using AppleScript, Python, Perl, Shell scripts, and BBEdit's native Text Factories. TextWrangler's find and replace allows the use of regular expressions. Python, Perl, and shell scripts can be run directly in the program. TextWrangler also provides numerous options for reformatting text.
Like some other Mac editors, TextWrangler can read and save files in various encodings, including Unicode (various encodings), ASCII, Latin-1 and Latin-9.
3. Gimp
The open source app Gimp allows both single image retouching a la Photoshop and batch image processing a la Photoshop Elements. The full-featured interface, which supports tablet input devices and saves in a variety of formats, offers a compelling alternative to the Adobe products. Plug-ins abound, and the user community is active and vocal.
4. Adium
Adium is a popular free instant messaging client for Mac OS X that supports multiple IM networks, including Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk, AIM, ICQ and XMPP. It supports many protocols through the libraries libezv (for Bonjour), MGTwitterEngine (for Twitter), and libpurple (for all other protocols). It is written using Mac OS X's Cocoa API, and it is released under the GNU General Public License, and many other licenses for components that are distributed with Adium.
5.Firefox
Mozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. As of July 2010, Firefox was the second most widely used browser, with 22.91% of worldwide usage share of web browsers, according to Net Applications.
6. StuffIt Expander
StuffIt Expander is a freeware, closed source, decompression software utility developed by Allume Systems (formerly Aladdin Systems). It runs in Mac OS Classic, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, and Linux x86/UNIX. As of February 2010, the latest Macintosh version is 2010 (14.0.1), which requires Mac OS X v10.4 or later. Version 10.0.2 runs on Mac OS X v10.3, and version 8.0.2 runs on Mac OS X v10.0-Mac OS X v10.2. The latest version for Mac OS 9 is 7.0.3. StuffIt has been a target of criticism and dissatisfaction from Mac users in the past as the file format changes frequently, notably during the introduction of StuffIt version 5.0. Expander 5.0 contained many bugs, and its file format was not readable by the earlier version 4.5, leaving Mac users of the time without a viable compression utility.
7. iSquint
Convert video files into an iPod or TV-friendly format with iSquint, a free alternative to QuickTime Pro. This drag-and-drop mini-app works with various video formats including .mov, .mp4, .avi, .mpg .wmv, .flv, and .m4v. Help documentation is nonexistent, but the simple application is unlikely to confuse.
8. DVD ripper
DVD Ripper for Mac is a powerful DVD ripping software for Mac users to rip encrypted or homemade DVDs with simplicity. Easily rip DVD movies for portable devices like iPod, iPad, iPhone 4, etc. Convert DVDs to pretty much any video formats like MP4, WMV, AVI, FLV, MOV, MKV, etc. This Mac DVD Ripper can also capture DVD audio to MP3. DVD Ripper for Mac is perfectly compatible with Mac OS X Leopard and Snow Leopard.
Quickly rip DVD movies straight to portable devices like iPod, iPad, iPhone, etc.
Backup DVDs to Macbook for convenient playback on-the-fly.
Convert DVDs for editing tools like iMovie, Final Cut Pro and more.
9. Neo Office
NeoOffice is an office suite for Mac OS X. It is a fork of the free/open source OpenOffice.org that implements nearly all of the features of the corresponding OpenOffice.org version, including a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation program, and graphics program. It is ported by Planamesa Software, and uses Java technology to integrate OpenOffice.org "" originally developed for Solaris and Linux "" with the Aqua interface of Mac OS X.
