Macintosh: Most recommended software list? (1 Viewer)

[MarkHastings]

1. Pro version of Quicktime is a worthy upgrade imho.

AMEN!
And besides the normal stuff that is also PC based (like Photoshop, DivX player, Firefox, etc.) - as far as Mac only software, I only have a couple suggestions...
FTP application: Fetch - I've been using this since the beginning and it's wonderful.
I've also used Renamer4Mac as a nice utility for renaming a large number of files (which is the equivalent to using the DOS prompt in windows).

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Another great utility is OS X Cocktail. Terrific.

 

[Ted Todorov]

...
5. Delicious Library - the BEST music and video collection software out there imho. Scans bar code with the iSight!

I have to disagree with this recommendation: IMO the current versions of DVDPedia (& CD/Book/*Pedia) (v.3.3.x) blow Delicious Library (v. 1.63) out of the water.
Yes, the *Pedias do indeed support iSight, but they also have a whole host of vital features, starting with IMDB/CDDB support that DL lacks. DVDPedia's full screen mode and VIDEO_TS or trailer launching ability is great. And for anyone with a HTF sized collection, Delicious Library, by Wil Shipley's own admission, chokes at 2000.
In fairness Shipley is working on a Leopard only 2.0 version of Delicious Library, which I eagerly await, but that won't be out for many months, if then, and the Bruji (DVDPedia) developers aren't standing idly by. For right now, especially for someone with a large or international collection, the *Pedias are the only game in town.
For additional info, if somewhat dated info, see also this thread: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...d.php?t=206868
Ted

 

[Lee Scoggins]

"Yes, the *Pedias do indeed support iSight, but they also have a whole host of vital features, starting with IMDB/CDDB support that DL lacks."

IMDB support is nice but I like the user interface of Delicious a lot.

 

[DavidJ]

AMEN!
And besides the normal stuff that is also PC based (like Photoshop, DivX player, Firefox, etc.) - as far as Mac only software, I only have a couple suggestions...
FTP application: Fetch - I've been using this since the beginning and it's wonderful.
I've also used Renamer4Mac as a nice utility for renaming a large number of files (which is the equivalent to using the DOS prompt in windows).

Let me second Fetch. It is a good little program. Reading this thread is depressing me a bit. I work on Macs, but at home I am "limited" to Windows machines. The Mac solutions for DVD cataloging look so much better than anything available on a Windows machine.

 

[McPaul]

I discovered Aurora last night - it's an alarm clock with graduated volume, and wake computer from sleep mode. Works fantastic so well.

 

[Andrew Pratt]

I've been trying CyberDuck as my FTP client as its freeware and seemed to offer the features that I needed. So far its done what I've expected so you might consider it if you want a freeware solution.

 

[JohnRice]

Incidentally, I have used Cyberduck, and had weird problems. Frequently I would update a file and it somehow wouldn't actually get updated properly. It happened alot. It worked fine uploading new files, but to update them properly, I had to delete them and upload the new ones, and sometimes even that didn't work right. So, I went to Transmit, which isn't free, but is so significantly better, I don't care. It also lets you open windows on two servers and move stuff directly between tham. If you are doing much FTP at all, I highly recommend it.
Also, for backing up volumes, SuperDuper is exactly that. Well worth the small shareware fee. It has saved me hours of work when my boot drive started dying.

 

[Andrew Pratt]

Interesting. I may have seen something similar yesterday updating a file on one of the servers that now make me wonder if it really did get updated.

 

[JohnRice]

I'll tell you Andrew, I was ripping my hair out with frustration until I finally realized Cyberduck was causing the problems.

 

[David Lawson]

I second the OnyX recommendation. Cyberduck gave me fits as well, so I bit the bullet and purchased Transmit for work and Yummy FTP for home (only because it was a MacZOT! $10 special). Both are both excellent FTP clients. Also...
TextWrangler - My default text editor, used for all of my HTML/CSS/PHP coding. My developer friend prefers TextMate, which is not freeware.
SilverKeeper - Freeware automated backup program. I back up my active work folders to external hard drives daily.
Linotype FontExplorer X - Font manager that kicks Font Book's ass. Probably not a necessity unless you are a designer and/or have a huge font library.
DiskWarrior - Commercial disk directory repair utility. Hopefully, you will never need it. It has saved my ass on multiple occasions.

Any of the Unsanity.com haxies

Not a chance in hell.

 

[Steve Tannehill]

Why no Unsanity? FruitMenu and Windowshade are quite handy.
- Steve

 

[Steven Simon]

Guys,
What is the best, and easiest backup software. I would like to just clone my Hard Drive over to an external for later use. One where that Backup could be re-installed and back to normal asap...
???

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Steve,
Look no further than SuperDuper
It's highly intuitive and very easy to use! Fairly inexpensive, too!
Did a lot of research and this came highly recommended!

 

[Steve Tannehill]

Big vote here for Carbon Copy Cloner:
http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html
- Steve

 

[Citizen87645]

Another vote for Super Duper. I'm still using the free version (no scheduling or incremental options), and I may just spring for DataBackup instead since it also has cloning. Costs twice as much as Super Duper, but it also has other backup features.

 

[Michael_K_Sr]

SuperDuper is great. It's a free download and allows you to do full clones at no charge. Pay the $28 shareware fee and it unlocks a number of features, including scheduling and a Smart Update feature that will make cloning wicked fast by only synchronizing files that have been deleted, added or modified since the previous clone. Macworld gives it a rare five mouse review. A comprehensive breakdown of backup utilities can be found here.
I used to use Carbon Copy Cloner religiously, but it's a little long in the tooth. Mike Bombich hasn't updated it in ages. It's not a Universal application and it doesn't maintain complete file integrity like maintaining locks on files that are cloned.

 

[David Lawson]

Why no Unsanity? FruitMenu and Windowshade are quite handy.

Not a fan of installing hacks that modify the way other applications operate, not a fan of installing frameworks that enable those hacks.

 

[DaveF]

I stumbled onto this:
xCuts

A utility for looking up Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts, something that recent switchers from Linux or Windows probably need to do quite a bit!

 

[Carl Johnson]

Does anybody have Mac games that they would recommend? I would like to try some sort of simulation that's challenging but doesn't require an MBA to play. I've heard good things about The Sims 2 and SimCity 4 and I'm curious as to whether there are any other credible choices out there.

What I would really like is a game that would let me play the role of a general manager in the NFL but I haven't been able to find it.