# Cool Mac Apps-Freeware



## gordguide

We've done this before, but it's always worthwhile to revisit it from time to time.
Post your links to freeware apps you think other ehMac users might like. I would prefer if people only post truly free apps here; ie not shareware tryouts (You can always post another topic if you want to point us to shareware or demos). Fill up those Hard Drives with must haves, cool apps, or just plain silly stuff!

I'm going to start with a freeware viewer from Deneba, Canvas 9 Viewer. It will open and allow you to play around with (but not edit) any Canvas 6~9 file. If you're the trusting sort and are running OSX, the direct download link is here.

Once you grab it, you will need something to look at with the application. How about one of these?


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## winwintoo

Free Ruler


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## capitalK

<A HREF="http://www.boinx.com/mousepose/" Target=_blank">Mouseposé</A> puts a "spotlight" around the mouse pointer. Great for presenters and teachers, I use it when I teach my OS X course.

<IMG SRC="http://media.boinx.net/www.boinx.com/mousepose/mpscreen.jpg">


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## capitalK

<A HREF="http://www.opticalalchemy.com/products.html" Target="_blank">JewelCase</A>, a free visualizer plug-in for iTunes that shows your album art in a 3D jewel case.

<IMG SRC="http://www.opticalalchemy.com/images/beck_front.jpg">


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## rogueToe

I've got a whole website full of cool freeware!  Check out http://members.shaw.ca/mwrogers/freeforx/ My favourites are NetNewWire Lite, Pastor and MacJanitor.

Update: free for x has morphed into thriftmac. Click on my sig to get there.


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## Willy Z

Because designing web pages is too much time consuming. (yep, i'm that lazy)

I only wanted to publish picture and the little application does it well, and for free

Galerie


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## BooyaMcNasty

Great thread....
I've had my mac (17" g4) for about three days now, and there are two programs that I like...

<a href:"http://azureus.sourceforge.net/">Azureus</a>, a java bit torrent client, and <a href="http://www.panic.com/transmit/">Transmit</a>, a nice little ftp util.


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## RobTheGob

Clutter 

Still one of my favourite apps.


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## corinthian

<a href="http://www.ranchero.com" target="_blank">NetNewsWire lite</a>
<a href="http://www.adiumx.com" target="_blank">Adium</a>
<a href="http://www.flyingmeat.com/voodoopad/voodoopadlite.html" target="_blank">VoodoPad Lite</a>


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## Boji

Thanks Rogue for that awesome website--I wasn't familiar with any of the software titles you've listed. I'm downloading them as we speak!

Thanks again!


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## hayesk

For those with iBooks and PowerBooks:
SlimBatteryMonitor


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## adb_ii

i like drive guage a lot....just discovered it. adium, growl, byte controller, ipodvolumebooster, onyx, quicksilver, xfactor, and d-vision 3 are all programs i love too. (was too lazy to put in the links, just search via macupdate, or versiontracker)


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## kps

Thanks for the tip on Galerie, nice app.


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## gordguide

JewelCase and Galerie look like nice apps; just what I was hoping to see here. Some of the others I knew about, so don't take that to mean I didn't like them either. Keep 'em coming.

Now, for one more:
CLIX is a GUI to the Command Line, that scary, mysterious, but oh-so-powerful window to UNIX. it contains hundreds of commands you could run from the Terminal, if only you knew UNIX as well as you should. Not to be taken lightly: you have the power to seriously hoop your system, but handy none the less.

If the Terminal scares you, this will too. If you are willing to take responsibility for administering your machine, and take the trouble to be sure you know what you're doing, it's all you need to get started.

"Applications" like Onyx and the like just run these same commands. Here's the ones Onyx runs.. But Onyx is 4.7 MB, written in AppleScript. CLIX is about 50KB, and gives you access to every one of them, and hundreds more. Not only that, it helps teach you the command line. You decide.


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## TroutMaskReplica

www.blender.org
www.wings3d.com
www.yafray.org


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## Timothy J

I own 6 different Apple computers with LCD screens and to help with LCD screen burn in I found this nifty free app called MenuShade. It allows the user to make the menu bar as dim or bright as you want.

MenuShade


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## ernestworthing

I wrote up this list for a friend of mine

Must haves
-------------
Quicksilver
http://quicksilver.blacktree.com/

Adium
http://www.adiumx.com/

Skype
http://www.skype.com

VLC
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html

Disk Inventory X - tells you what files/folders are taking up the most space in your hard drive.
http://www.derlien.com/

WordNetX - dictionary program from Princton. Look up words on the fly. Assign this to a Hotkey with Quicksilver and you can look up unfamiliar words (e.g. recrudescence) rapidly. 
http://wordnet.sourceforge.net/

Audacity
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/mac

Meteorologist - displays the temperature and the weather forecast on your menu bar. Indispensable.
http://heat-meteo.sourceforge.net/

Pester - small little app; you can set it to pester you after n minutes, to remind you of little ad hoc chores etc. (in the middle of the page)
http://web.sabi.net/nriley/software/

Remote Desktop Connection - allows you to login into a Windows XP machine from your Mac
http://www.microsoft.com/mac/otherproducts/otherproducts.aspx?pid=remotedesktopclient

SubEthaEdit - colloboratively edit a file (IN REAL TIME!)
http://www.codingmonkeys.de/subethaedit/


Optional stuff
----------------
Sysquake LE - free little MATLAB clone. Allows you to do MATLAB type stuff - calculations, matrix manipulations, graph plotting etc. 
http://www.calerga.com/

NetNewsWire Lite - RSS newsreader and news aggregator. 
http://ranchero.com/netnewswire/

HandBrake - Rips DVDs into a compressed format like DivX. A whole DVD (4.7GB) can be compressed into a 700MB file.
http://handbrake.m0k.org/

Windows Media Player - in case you need to open some video or movie on a website that in Windows media player format.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/software/Macintosh/osx/default.aspx

RealPlayer - ditto. For watching streaming CBC news or C-SPAN.
https://order.real.com/pt/order.htm...=EN&opage=os_mac&src=092804os_mac_1_2_2_1_8_3

JBidWatcher - win eBay auctions by "sniping" (i.e. bid at the last possible minute).
http://www.jbidwatcher.com/

MacJanitor - periodic cleanup for your Mac.
http://personalpages.tds.net/~brian_hill/macjanitor.html

Tofu - screen reader software for reading e-texts.
http://homepage.mac.com/asagoo/tofu/

TextWrangler - advanced text editing (if you ever need a really powerful text editor) This is free, from the same people who made BBEdit.
http://www.barebones.com/products/textwrangler/

Comictastic - automatically download your favorite comic strips! (you'll like this if you read comic strips). This one is not free, but you can use it indefinitely as long as you don't mind clicking away the registration reminder screen every time you start it.
http://www.spiny.com/comictastic/

DosBox - if you need to run any DOS software ever, this will save your life. It runs DOS software very well.
http://mac.softpedia.com/get/System-Utilities/DOSBox.shtml


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## jonmon

this thread is awesome
i'm loving menushade! should be built into tiger hehe


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## SpliceDWDM

http://virtuedesktops.sourceforge.net/downloads.html - a great desktop manager


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## Loafer

jonmon said:


> this thread is awesome
> i'm loving menushade! should be built into tiger hehe


You're not wrong....thanks for all the links guys, great stuff
I'm loving Galerie!


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## Snapple Quaffer

Here's a good site I visit regularly. 

http://osx.hyperjeff.net/Apps/

I've had a lot of high-quality fun/useful freeware thanks to Hyperjeff.

Some examples:

AlarmThingy

Gerry's Attraction

Graph550

MacOSaiX

SafariSorter


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## Daktari

My favourite OS X application BluePhoneElite Connect to your bluetooth enabled phone and manage calls, send sms's and much much more.


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## thatcomputerguy

what about double?
not sure if it's made the list already, but it sure is a good time waster...

http://www.pcv-soft.com/Products/Double/Downloads/Double.dmg.bin


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## thatcomputerguy

don't forget FullScreenMoviePlayer, for those of us who don't want to spend $ just to see quicktime movies in full screen mode.

http://www.monkeybreadsoftware.de/Freeware/index.shtml


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## rogueToe

I hate to be a nitpicker, BooyaMcNasty, but Transmit is not freeware unless you count the old OS 9 version that's no longer being updated. The best freeware FTP program for OS X is probably Cyberduck, which has been steadily improving recently. The second best is Terminal, but it's too scarey for me.


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## Heart

AppleJack 1.3 
AppleJack is a user friendly troubleshooting assistant for Mac OS X. AppleJack lets you troubleshoot a computer even when you can't load the GUI, or don't have a startup CD handy. AppleJack runs in Single User Mode and is menu-based for ease of use.

AppleJack 1.3 allows you to:

Repair your hard drive
Repair permissions
Validate .plist preference files and remove them if they are damaged
Clear out system and user cache files
Delete obstinate swap files
all without having to remember any other command than 'applejack'.

Applejack 1.3


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## Howard2k

Great thread.

What about Open Office? 

http://www.openoffice.org/
Just say No to Microsoft have Yes to Open Office. So far so good in my experience.


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## PosterBoy

Freeware Apps:

Windows RDC: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/otherproducts/otherproducts.aspx?pid=remotedesktopclient

Remotely administer your PC running Windows XP Pro, 2003, etc. Kind of a niche product, but it works.

OmniDictionary: http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnidictionary/

Free, small, internet dictionary client (see <a href="http://www.dict.org">Dict.org</a>) which is accessible in Mac OS X apps via a keyboard command (command-=, if this is in use in a particular app then you can also access OmniDictionary via the services menu. In BBEdit 8 and TextWrangler 2, shift-command-= also works).

TextWrangler 2: http://www.barebones.com/products/textwrangler/index.shtml

Most of the cool features from BBEdit 8. Some are not there. If you can't or don't want to afford BBEdit, this is easily the second most powerful text editor around.

SubEthaEdit: http://www.codingmonkeys.de/subethaedit/

Free text editor that colorizes most languages, works as an external editor for Transmit, and allows multiple remote users to work on the same document simultaneously. Very cool.

Video Lan Client (VLC): http://www.videolan.org/

Free utility that either incorporates or has reverse engineered just about every codec out there. It can play just about anything, including DVDs and VCDs, and play them full screen.

That's pretty much it for me for free stuff. Petty much everything else I use on any kind of regular basis is either a for-pay product or comes with OS X.


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## gordguide

Allright, looking good.

How about a free Thesaurus, OSX system-wide tool for students, teachers, writers and good old plain folk like us. Nisus Thesaurus is available here.


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## elmer

Fink deserves a mention, for providing easy, reliable, non-interfering access to lots of free (as in beer and as in liberty) software within the X11 framework, notably GnuCash - Open Source Accounting Software, GIMP - The GNU Image Manipulation Program and scientific applications such as Scilab.
As the Fink website says,


> The Fink project wants to bring the full world of Unix Open Source software to Darwin and Mac OS X. We modify Unix software so that it compiles and runs on Mac OS X ("port" it) and make it available for download as a coherent distribution.


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## Heart

*Freeware Apps?*

Just putting this thread back into the mix, for all those new members.


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## mr.muggles

This is my personal favorite.
MenuMeters I know I have seen it posted here by others but not in this thread yet.
http://www.ragingmenace.com/software/menumeters/

MM


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## macsackbut

Well, I just today found two that seem quite useful and work for me so far. The first isn't really an app, just a terminal command interface: <a href="http://www.unsanity.com/haxies/shadowkiller" target="blank"> ShadowKiller</a> removes the window shadows in OS X. Very useful for those on older G3s, as long as you don't mind sacrificing aesthetics for performance. 

The other, which has had mixed reviews but seems to work for me (though I'm going to give it a real workout when I get some free time), is <a href="http://www.enigmarelle.com/sw/BroadbandOptimizer/" target="blank"> Broadband Optimizer</a>. You might want to read some of the reviews before installing this one.

MacS


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## GratuitousApplesauce

Went to check out SafariSorter as suggested by Snapple Quaffer. It looked interesting, what really made me warm up to it was this: 

"SafariSorter is free outside the USA.

For Americans, our freedom is not free ... " 

Read the rest: Safari Sorter: Registration and Price


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## scoobie

Menushade is a fantastic little app. Thanks for the tip.

I like Romeo another bluetooth phone app.

VoodooPad , not free but only a 15 page limit (15 "pages" or sections)

Clix use this instead of Onyx or MacJanitor.

If any of these have been mentioned sorry but these are my faves.


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## ACfly

*Travel clock with different time zones?*

This is a great post!

Anyone know of a freeware that keeps international times from different regions? 

I travel a lot, and always have trouble figuring out what the different time zones..


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## thatcomputerguy

not sure if this one has been mentioned yet, but MAINMENU is a great app, it allowed me to free up about 2 gig of cache files, log files, etc that was slowly filling my mac. it runs all those cron scripts, does prebinding, clears cache, etc. a definite must have.


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## jdurston

Check out sizzling keys at yellowmug.com its a good free iTunes controller.


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## macsackbut

I have sizzling keys too and agree it's a good little bare-bones app.

MacS


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## Chipper

Consider iClock. You can find it on versiontracker.com


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## elmer

Pardon my bad pun, but I'm surprised this does not get more media attention.
Expression 3.3


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## thatcomputerguy

elmer said:


> Pardon my bad pun, but I'm surprised this does not get more media attention.
> Expression 3.3


it seems that expression is no longer available from the microsoft website, so you better get it from macupdate while you can.


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## Heart

MainMenu Link 

gonna try this out now!


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## Timothy J

Doublecommand is another great free utility that lets you remap your keys on any mac. I particularily love this because I remapped the ENTER key to the right of my space bar to now be the APPLE key. Apple didn't change this key until the G4 line up. So all us older G3 powerbook users were sol til now.

Doublecommand


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## gordguide

This is awesome for sites that have implemented it. The PangeaVR browser plugin offers smooth, high resolution viewing of panoramic images. Get the plugin here first and then check out some of the stuff available on the web (bottom of the page).

This one is pretty cool, for example. At the same site, they have versions of both QTVR and PangeaVR.

Roughly translated for you:
Visite virtuelle en dix panoramiques : Liaison bas débit / Liaison haut débit

Visit the QuickTime VR images: Lower Resoulution / Higher Resolution

En test : Liaison haut débit version Pangea 

Test Page: PangeaVR version


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## Snapple Quaffer

Three more bits of freeware:

For quick access to Wikipedia: iWiki.

A kitchen timer just like the real thing: Miuteur

For when you're really serious about wanting to waste some quality time: Lynn's Pyramids


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## Timothy J

Airfoil is just too cool. I watch a movie on my powerbook while streaming the audio to any airport express in my house. Very Cool!!!

Best app I've found in a long time!

Here is the link:
Airfoil


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## powerbooker

*Butler!*

I'm surprised that no one else here has mentioned Butler. Or maybe it has been mentioned but I missed it.

But anyway.
Butler is an amazing all in one program that even adds a google search bar right onto your apple menu bar...

also comes with
-launch menu for your bookmarks, applications, files, and pretty much anything you want to use in your computer...it's almost fully customizable and all neatly packaged into a couple of drop down menus on ur apple menu bar

-also has an itunes controller

give it a try, it's really useful...
also it's FREE!!
but for most people that use it, they find it so useful that they feel like they want to donate!

http://www.petermaurer.de/nasi.php?thema=butler&sprache=english&kopf=labor


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## MacME

Addictive and very well created freeware game. Surprised no one has mentioned it ... Frozen-Bubble:

http://redivi.com/~bob/frozenbubble.html

if you want to try it online first, but it runs much better locally:

http://glenn.sanson.free.fr/fb/play.html


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## adam1185

MacME said:


> Addictive and very well created freeware game. Surprised no one has mentioned it ... Frozen-Bubble:
> 
> http://redivi.com/~bob/frozenbubble.html
> 
> if you want to try it online first, but it runs much better locally:
> 
> http://glenn.sanson.free.fr/fb/play.html


wow, that was addicting. I made it to level 27 in half an hour!


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## sping123

For those of you doing java development, you may want to download the free Eclipse  

http://www.eclipse.org/


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## lpkmckenna

*A few of my freeware favs....*

Nisus Thesaurus 
Forget OmniDictionary. This app does not need to be on the net to be function. It is both a dictionary and thesaurus with a cool interface. (I wonder whether the new Apple Dashboard dictionary and thesaurus widget will run off the open-source Word-Net database like Nisus Thesaurus?) 

NeoOffice/J RC1.1 
An excellent open source wordprocessor/spreadsheet/presentation solution. Some issues, but it gets better all the time; you can't argue with free. I wouldn't have bought MS Office if I had access to this then.

GIMPshop 
Turns the GIMP into a more Photoshop-like environment, with an aqua-style interface. Runs under X11. Good stuff here.

iScroll2 
This great little app provides a system preference pane and new mouse driver to activate two-fingered scrolling on some recent PowerBooks and iBooks. I love it and quickly quit using a mouse altogether. (Oh, and it allows for a totally new way to right-click using the track pad. Hard to describe, easy to do.)

CornerClick 
Activate Expose, hide applications, and open files or scripts, just from a click in a corner. Highly configurable, highly recommended. (I set all my clicks in the topright-hand corner. Click for All Windows. Cmd-Click for App Windows. Opt-Click for Show Desktop. Ctrl-Click for Hide App. Fn-Click for Hide Other Apps. Totally awesome setup.) I only wish you could still activate drap operations to activate functions. Perhaps the spacebar could substitute for a click in the corner just like dragging-and-spacebaring in the Finder?

Give these a shot!


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## gordguide

It's nice to keep this thread up so new users or switchers can see it, so here we go with another cool free app:

Office Timer is available here along with some other freeware apps that aquarium lovers would find useful.

Office Timer is a time tracking/billing app with a very simple but effective interface. Check it out for OS9 (tested to work in Classic under OSX), or the native OSX version. There's also a version for some other OS, which has been tested to work with VPC on OSX.


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## rogueToe

I came across this one yesterday. It's called Sidenote. It's like Stickies, but you can store many notes in it. When you're finished using it, Sidenote slides out of view. It's very well done, and was just recently updated so you can assign hotkeys to various actions. Find it at http://www.chatelp.org/?s=Sidenote


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## elmer

lpkmckenna said:


> NeoOffice/J RC1.1
> An excellent open source wordprocessor/spreadsheet/presentation solution. Some issues, but it gets better all the time; you can't argue with free. I wouldn't have bought MS Office if I had access to this then.


I agree wholeheartedly with this. BTW, on openoffice.org, there's a nice comparison between the regular OpenOffice for X11 and NeoOffice:
http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/ooo-osx_downloads.html
Some of those differences may be of interest to those who may only have tried the X11 version.

And hey - I just noticed, looking at that, that NeoOffice/J has "Integrated WordPerfect file import filters."


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## lpkmckenna

*About using Virtue...*

I have been using Virtue (http://virtuedesktops.sourceforge.net/) since yesterday. At first I didn't like it, because it doesn't handle floating palettes very well. It often loses them in the switch, so apps like Word or Keynote get messed up.

But I found a quick fix: using the Inspection->Applications command, set iTunes to show on all desktops. Then always leave the iTunes mini-controller on-screen. Every time you switch, iTunes will be the top-most app, even if you switch by using the dock or cmd-tab.

Sounds strange, but it works great!


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## thatcomputerguy

rogueToe said:


> I came across this one yesterday. It's called Sidenote. It's like Stickies, but you can store many notes in it. When you're finished using it, Sidenote slides out of view. It's very well done, and was just recently updated so you can assign hotkeys to various actions. Find it at http://www.chatelp.org/?s=Sidenote


i tried sidenote - pretty cool little app, gotta wonder though if it be short lived what with Tiger having all those widgets built in, a few of which will basically be the same thing.


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## Howard2k

Slimserver

Want to stream your iTunes collection to your local PC, PDA or an Internet host? This will allow you to do it. Not only will it give you control different bitrates to different devices (128Kb/s to a PDA and 320Kb/s to a PC for example) but it has a web interface for remote control of your iTunes library. VERY nice.


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## MacDoc

I assume MOST are aware of http://maps.google.com/

But I've been surprised by clients who were not and it's big time cool and useful so worth a heads up here.

Explore the mapping and in particular the satellite and directions. AMAZING!! :clap:


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## Bosco

I like this Google map site. But in the Google world there's only North America and the British Isles. 

Imagine how big Google will become when they discover the rest of the world.


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## MacME

MacDoc said:


> I assume MOST are aware of http://maps.google.com/
> 
> But I've been surprised by clients who were not and it's big time cool and useful so worth a heads up here.
> 
> Explore the mapping and in particular the satellite and directions. AMAZING!! :clap:


Holy Crap ... that's amazing! So fast!!! it KILLS using MAPQUEST!!!


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## CubaMark

Maybe someday the current Google Maps UK will include it.... 

URL is http://maps.google.co.uk

M.


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## DelSolMan

AcidSearch 
This is a safari plugin. It has two really good features. One, it lets you add sites such as dictionary.com, imdb.com and amazon to your safari search panel. New feature is showing an icon for the given search engine. Second, and I love this from firefox, is 'search as you type.' Instead of going apple+f, you just type whatever you want to find and it will go to the word. Find next is the \ key.
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/24092

ClearDock
I love how the dock looked until I got this program. It lets you edit the background color, border and application triangle color of your dock. Try making the background invisible, it makes the desktop look so nice. For a contrast scheme, I have my background 80% black and it looks great with my grey desktop. Note: you need to have some ape thing installed as well.
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/15895


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## Vexel

I think I'll pop in here and tell you guys and gals about a little App called Libra. I've been using this for a while now. Libra allows you to use multiple iTunes libraries. Now.. I know you are going to say making a playlist does the same thing. But.. let me tell you, it isn't. I use this App when I DJ. I have 2 libraries set up 1 for DJ'in and 1 for my listening pleasure. It's a dream to actually find what I am looking for when I don't have to scroll through all the music that I never listen to  Anyway, give it a shot.. it's really worth it.

http://www.roydesign.net/libra


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## DelSolMan

Hi Vexel. Its cool that you dj with iTunes. Do you have any modifications to the programs like plug ins. I noticed when you switch tracks in iTunes manually it doesn't do any type of crossfading.


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## lpkmckenna

*Virtue (updated)*



lpkmckenna said:


> I have been using Virtue (http://virtuedesktops.sourceforge.net/) since yesterday. At first I didn't like it, because it doesn't handle floating palettes very well. It often loses them in the switch, so apps like Word or Keynote get messed up.
> 
> But I found a quick fix: using the Inspection->Applications command, set iTunes to show on all desktops. Then always leave the iTunes mini-controller on-screen. Every time you switch, iTunes will be the top-most app, even if you switch by using the dock or cmd-tab.
> 
> Sounds strange, but it works great!


I'm moderating my opinion. Virtue is cool, provided you avoid adjusting its preferences. It usually gets very unstable when they are toyed with too much. And since Virtue is dug deep into the Dock, it can really screw your system.

I just had to do a hard reset because Virtue hosed the Dock, but force-quitting the Dock or Virtue just locked up the system.

Oh well. I've gone back to window-minimizing.


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## Vexel

DelSolMan said:


> Hi Vexel. Its cool that you dj with iTunes. Do you have any modifications to the programs like plug ins. I noticed when you switch tracks in iTunes manually it doesn't do any type of crossfading.


 I am by no means a professional.. and I mainly DJ on my own station so it doesn't matter. But I tend to just let songs play through and crossfade on their own. When I start getting professional, I will be purchasing an actual mixer and using different inputs.. but for now.. it's not the case. I'm always looking for Plugins or decent apps.. but what I use right now, works for me 

If you're interested.. Audion X.. actually has a crossfading plugin, which is what I use when I actually wanna do some crossfading. Audion has actually turned into Freeware.. but it is no longer supported. Good luck 

http://www.panic.com/audion/


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## kevs~just kevs

lpkmckenna said:


> Nisus Thesaurus
> Forget OmniDictionary. This app does not need to be on the net to be function. It is both a dictionary and thesaurus with a cool interface. (I wonder whether the new Apple Dashboard dictionary and thesaurus widget will run off the open-source Word-Net database like Nisus Thesaurus?)



i've been looking for this app for a while now, THANKS!

great thread here folks...


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## Vexel

Desktop Manager - This enables the Linux'y style virtual desktops, so you can have different desktops with different things in them and with 1 click hop between them. I give this one 2 thumbs up!

Desktop Manager - http://desktopmanager.berlios.de/


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## i stole this name

I cant beleive that no one has mentioned GROWL!!

This app interacts with everything in OS X! giving you little notices and stuff, VERY nice. 

http://growl.info/


Also, if you like acquisition but can't pay for it, a great P2P alternative is Poisoned: 

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/20289

Allows interface styles, OS integration and connection to a Multitude of clients including fasttrack, ares, OpenFT and gnutella

Also be sure to check out : http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=5297


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## rogueToe

Here's a couple more I found recently:

Thumbscrew -- puts borders and drop shadows on your pictures.

Journler -- looks like it might be a good replacement for MacJournal now that it's no longer freeware.

I haven't had a chance to take a close look at either of these but at first glance they seem promising.


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## speckledmind

Great thread by the way.

I am looking for some kind of timer to leave on my desk top, to track time spent on a project, sort of a on and off then back on kind of thing.
Some what of a punch clock kind of thingny, time could be accumulated, then billed to the customer, regular time spent, then over time spent, if it had some kind printable time sheet, that I could keep in my files, that would be even better.

Regards,
Denis


----------



## Ottawaman

UCGrafix said:


> Great thread by the way.
> 
> I am looking for some kind of timer to leave on my desk top, to track time spent on a project, sort of a on and off then back on kind of thing.
> Some what of a punch clock kind of thingny, time could be accumulated, then billed to the customer, regular time spent, then over time spent, if it had some kind printable time sheet, that I could keep in my files, that would be even better.
> 
> Regards,
> Denis


http://www.lemkesoft.de/en/featuredsw_1.htm

JobTimer

Perfect tool for freelancers!
Measure your work time for projects now!
Get an overview about your work time!

All of you who have to or want to keep control on their daily work time, love JobTimer and will be glad about the enhancements of our JobTimer 2.0 release.
Your valuable worktime should not be wasted by rough calculations. Use the new JobTimer 2.0 and get control over various projects with simple mouse clicks. Check out exactly, how long you have been busy working on the new website for customer X and for the new print catalog for customer Y. Use the RTF export and handle your JobTimer protocols in other programs to your needs. JobTimer is recommended as a boot application. One click, and your next job can be started.


----------



## duosonic

OffieTimer from 
http://homepage.mac.com/nmonks/software/software.html
free & it works -


----------



## elmer

Solar Wolf
An very addictive freeware arcade game - 60 levels of dodging asteroids and enemy fire in a 2D arena with nice graphics and sound. I finished it for the third time the other day.
Any others like this?


----------



## Vexel

ArtRage 

This is an AMAZING Free painter program.. give it a shot.. you'll be impressed!


----------



## SoyMac

*Thanks, gordguide!*

gordguide, excellent thread. 
You totally rock!


----------



## Jordan

Image Tricks for Tiger users, it uses the Core Image filters built into Tiger so you can edit images.


----------



## SoyMac

rogueToe said:


> Here's a couple more I found recently:
> 
> Thumbscrew -- puts borders and drop shadows on your pictures.
> 
> Journler -- looks like it might be a good replacement for MacJournal now that it's no longer freeware.
> 
> I haven't had a chance to take a close look at either of these but at first glance they seem promising.


Maybe it's just me, but I couldn't get _Thumbscrew_ to work.
I didn't attempt the other.


----------



## Vexel

Jordan said:


> Image Tricks for Tiger users, it uses the Core Image filters built into Tiger so you can edit images.


Yes! Great App.. I forgot to mention that one.. tried this the other day.. it's a pretty sweet little app


----------



## DP004

Jordan said:


> Image Tricks for Tiger users, it uses the Core Image filters built into Tiger so you can edit images.


Why am I able to use this software?
Usually the opposite question is asked in forums but I am puzzled as to how I can use this with an eMac 1.25 with Tiger 10.4.2 and an ATI 9200 graphic card without Core Image capabilities. According to Apple, Core Images capabilities start with the ATI 9550.
I am puzzled-happy.
That's a welcome change from the usual puzzled-worry or even the puzzled-wtf I usualy go through with computers.


----------



## Vexel

It's capabilities are available still in Tiger, even without a CoreImage compatibility. If you had a Video card which supported it, it would be much smoother and fast. But, you still have the capability to have the effects render on a picture. They're just filters.


----------



## DP004

O/S capabilities, graphic cards compatibilities...
I must say that this Core Image question is quite fuzzy for me. 
But hey, it works!
Thx.


----------



## DP004

Free decent multi-language project management software

http://ganttproject.sourceforge.net/


----------



## thejst

Vexel said:


> ArtRage
> 
> This is an AMAZING Free painter program.. give it a shot.. you'll be impressed!


It's true...This is a great Program. Thanks Vexel!


----------



## lpkmckenna

Jordan said:


> Image Tricks for Tiger users, it uses the Core Image filters built into Tiger so you can edit images.


I downloaded this, tried it for about 5 minutes, then dumped it in the trash. Core Image Fun House can do more than this. Even LiveQuartz can do more.


----------



## rogueToe

MacOSaiX. I haven't tried this one, but it's apparently used by the professionals. It takes a bunch of related small pictures and produces a mosaic of one larger picture. For example, someone created a mosaic of George Bush from pictures of soldiers who have died in Iraq -- very effective.

http://homepage.mac.com/knarf/MacOSaiX/

Hmm, I just checked and the downloads area seems to have disappeared. Others may have better luck.


----------



## rogueToe

SoyMac said:


> Maybe it's just me, but I couldn't get _Thumbscrew_ to work.
> I didn't attempt the other.


Fire up the app and drag a picture onto it. After a few seconds, a new picture will show up in the same folder as the first one, but with "_thumbnail" appended.

HTH


----------



## Snapple Quaffer

rogueToe, did you try this link? Seems to be OK for MacOSaiX.


----------



## rogueToe

FeedMe: This one might be a bit obscure for most people, but I was pleased with how easy it was to create an rss feed for my website. It can also be used for easy updates.

http://thenowhereman.com/hacks/

And yes, download for MacOSaiX does seem to have returned ...


----------



## Vexel

Need a good Illustration App that's freeware.. didn't see any in the list. Anyone know of some good one's? 

and Bump!


----------



## Melonie

Vexel, this vector-based drawing and illustration software was mentioned earlier in the thread. It's Microsnot, but it's free...

Microsoft Expression: http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/14792

Mel




Vexel said:


> Need a good Illustration App that's freeware.. didn't see any in the list. Anyone know of some good one's?
> 
> and Bump!


----------



## stukdog

There is a good site for freeware reveiws at http://www.freemacware.com


----------



## DJM

MACTRACKER is a cool little program for those of you who may not already know about it. 

"It provides detailed information on every Apple, Motorola, PowerComputing, and UMAX Mac OS computer ever made, including items such as processor speed, memory, optical drives, graphic cards, supported Mac OS versions, and expansion options. Also included is information on Apple mice, keyboards, displays, printers, scanners, digital cameras, iPods, AirPort Base Stations, Newtons, and Mac OS X versions."

http://www.mactracker.ca/


----------



## MacGYVER

Hi Stukdog,

Thank you for that site, I just came across probably the coolest app for Mail, called Mail.Appetizer..... it has probably been mentioned on this site before, but I had no idea it could be so handy.

I no longer have to switch over to the Mail app to read an E-mail, the E-mail just pops over top of the existing window I am currently in and allows me to read the message right there and then. Very cool, time effective and cuts down on switching from different apps just to read a message .


----------



## PirateMyke

There was this one mac app that was 100% free that i got from an old issue of MacAddict Magazine. I forget what it's called... but it would allow you to copy songs off DVD's... i wish i remembered the name.. i want it so bad 

and iv lost the CD and magazine for that...


----------



## ColBalt

PirateMyke said:


> There was this one mac app that was 100% free that i got from an old issue of MacAddict Magazine. I forget what it's called... but it would allow you to copy songs off DVD's... i wish i remembered the name.. i want it so bad
> 
> and iv lost the CD and magazine for that...


Do you remember what issue? I most likly have it. I can get you a name or AIM the app to you.  I've kept every issue of MacAddict since Mid 1998. 

BTW: I'm looking for issues 1-5, 9. If you have it and looking to sell, PM me.


----------



## macsackbut

PirateMyke said:


> There was this one mac app that was 100% free that i got from an old issue of MacAddict Magazine. I forget what it's called... but it would allow you to copy songs off DVD's... i wish i remembered the name.. i want it so bad
> 
> and iv lost the CD and magazine for that...


Hmmm... not sure about that particular app, but coincidentaly, the TUAW website had a post about ripping tracks from DVDs. Maybe it can help: http://www.tuaw.com/2005/08/24/dvds-on-your-ipod/


----------



## macsackbut

MacGYVER said:


> Hi Stukdog,
> 
> Thank you for that site, I just came across probably the coolest app for Mail, called Mail.Appetizer..... it has probably been mentioned on this site before, but I had no idea it could be so handy.
> 
> I no longer have to switch over to the Mail app to read an E-mail, the E-mail just pops over top of the existing window I am currently in and allows me to read the message right there and then. Very cool, time effective and cuts down on switching from different apps just to read a message .


Thank you BOTH for pointing this app out. Just this morning I was trying to create a rule that would make messages from certain mailboxes open up in a front window automatically. It doesn't seem possible without using Applescript. This app does the trick brilliantly and beautifully, however. Made my day.

MacS


----------



## used to be jwoodget

macsackbut said:


> Thank you BOTH for point this app out. Just this morning I was trying to create a rule that would make messages from certain mailboxes open up in a front window automatically. It doesn't seem possible without using Applescript. This app does the trick brilliantly and beautifully, however. Made my day.
> 
> MacS


Mail Appetizer also lets you delete a message without switching to Mail - useful for getting rid of garbage. Has a few bugs and has frozen Mail.app once for me (over a month or so of use) but is an excellent little program.


----------



## Vexel

*Witch*

Thought I'd jump in here again and post another cool app I found. It's an application switcher for those who really need more. Witch will show you every window open on screen.. not just the applications.


----------



## audiodan

Great Thread!


----------



## MacDoc

I'll put another two thumbs up for Mail Appetizer - you can set it it such a way you can read the messages easily ( size of font and length of image etc ) I have it pop up in my second screen for 10 seconds with large font and all the message - saves a lot of clicking about even with dedicated mouse button for mail seeing the incoming mail pop up is just terrific. :clap:

I guess my only wish list for it would be a Reply button on the popup bringing mail and a reply window to the front and active.

••••••

I'll put in another plug for Milky Way which I'm finding more and more useful. It never intrudes but suddenly pops up a bigger image at the right time.

http://www.ehmac.ca/showthread.php?t=35009&highlight=milky


----------



## MacDoc

This looks very cool. Similar to the Mail notifier but system wide.



> Product Description:
> Growl is a global notifications system for OS X. (for example) Growl allows you to get notifications on iTunes track changes, new email notifications, and many other things.












http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/24638


----------



## Daktari

Google Earth ......


----------



## MacDoc

Yeah I'll second google earth BUT it's a CPU/GPU killer. Needs HorsePOWAH big time.


----------



## ajaxline

I am a big fan of Nvu, a free WYSIWYG HTML editor with integrated web site management tools. It's not as multi-featured as DreamWeaver, but it has a lot going for it... including the price tag.

Cheers,

A.J.


----------



## MacDoc

I like slide show apps making use of OpenGl and they are not very sophisticated. 

GraphicConverter does an "okay" job with quick and dirty slide shows - nice for travel pics set on random but really do not use the openGL capabilities ( the screensaver Apple supplies does a good job with that Beach and Forest ).

I've been monitoring www.FotoMagico.com and the first versions showed promise but very buggy and unstable.

NOW they've got a 1.5 Beta out that works very well and *for the moment it's freeware.*
Drop images into it and you can get the kind of moving panning scanning that makes the forest and beach screen saver so nice.

You can take the time to do each slide individually but I just put 100 in and set it for Randomize motion and hit export and they turn out very well. Set a couple on loop and you get unique views of your travel adventures.
Turns it into a QT movie with anything up to 1080p !!!! resolution.

Because pan and scan changes the emphasis and framing of each photo the views end up being unique and bring new life to travel or event pics.

*Be warned tho the crunch time is brutal for rendering 100 photos* so make good use of the free 30 days. 
I've got several travel movies looping right now and the motion and transparent fades are very pleasant. The angles and speed of the pan/scan/zoom changes with each slide.
My only complaint is there is no automatic randomizer when putting the images in so you need to take some care it's not repetitive.

Music can be added as well. :clap: Nice addition and if you have travel photos snag it while it's free.


••••
Nice addendum to this - this app which is free removes all the framing from the QT movies so they float ( in my case on a black background ) :clap:

http://www.versiontracker.com/php/d...m/software/niceplayer/NicePlayer_download.dmg

Does exactly what I want - no frames at all and the controls only show up whn you pass the mouse across them.

Very configurable - well done bit of software. Excellent companion to Boinc FotoMagic slideshow creator.
Finally some good use of the OpenGL that is easy to configure.


----------



## William

CoconutBattery is not only a battery monitor but provides lots of useful information about the battery, particularly the level of efficiency it has retained. It is available from 

www.coconut-flavour.com

(It is free, but it accepts donations).


----------



## webwiz23

any new good apps?


----------



## kh4nh

when iWeb becomes free, that will be a good app to have


----------



## gordguide

How about Font Management?

Apple's tools are OK if you don't have many fonts. What if you're a font junkie? You had to spend $100 or suffer. Not any more.

Linotype offers FontExplorer X, and if you are familiar with Suitcase, Font Reserve, FontAgent Pro or MasterJuggler, you will be shocked at what $0 can get you.

About the only criticism I could offer is that it has a "Buy Fonts" menu item. Of course, most of the competition does too.


----------



## Heart

I am off to try Nvu and I had Witch already downloaded but have not installed it yet, even forgot what it was. Gonna try it now.

Great thread.




.


----------



## ajaxline

Let me know what you think of Nvu, Heart. I use it for pretty light HTML work; I would be interesed in hearing how you like it.

Cheers,
A.J.


----------



## speckledmind

Keeping things alive.

How about those who do not use widgets or Tiger yet.
Is there a Panther freeware app for ???

Moon phase ??? MoonMenue
Local Weather ???
Simple World Clock ???
or any other little thing you can come up with ???

Denis


----------



## Vexel

Have you tried Konfabulator? http://widgets.yahoo.com/


----------



## TroutMaskReplica

> Need a good Illustration App that's freeware.. didn't see any in the list. Anyone know of some good one's?


inkscape. --> www.inkscape.org

open source vector illustration package.

-------------------

scribus ---> http://www.scribus.org.uk/

open source page layout

i have not tested these in a production environment so use at your own risk if you are sending to press.


----------



## Ottawaman

*Mouseposé*

Mouseposé
An essential for everyone doing demos at tradeshows, presentations, trainings or those individuals with huge and high resolution displays. Mouseposé dims the screen and puts a spotlight on the area around the mouse pointer, easily guiding the audiences attention or to quickly locate the mouse pointer. 

With the Mouseposé application running in the background, hitting a user definable hot key turns on the Mouseposé effect, dimming the screen and putting the mouse pointer into a spotlight that makes it easy to locate. The desktop behind it remains functional, so that applications can be used while Mouseposé is turned on.

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/productivity_tools/boinxmousepose.html


----------



## Ottawaman

*LargeType*

LargeType is a Mac OS X service that displays any selected text in large type similar to the large type option in Address Book. 



http://www.coldpizzasoftware.com/largetype/


----------



## Jason H

Vexel said:


> Thought I'd jump in here again and post another cool app I found. It's an application switcher for those who really need more. Witch will show you every window open on screen.. not just the applications.


Just like windows 95+!!!!!!!


----------



## lpkmckenna

Jason H said:


> Just like windows 95+!!!!!!!


A little better than that. I hate alt-tab at my work computer because it doesn't organize the icons by app.


----------



## Mac-Man

I really like Pixelnhance ( with its spit-screen feature when manipuling images)

Also liked Pixel Check which I used recently to find out that I had no dead Pixels or light bleeding form my new Dell 24" Moniter.


----------



## lpkmckenna

How about a very cool Canada flag screen saver: http://www.artofadambetts.com/archives/000050.html


----------



## Daktari

Hehehe... "I am a pitbull on the pantleg of opportunity."


----------



## gordguide

Not exactly a freeware app so much as a link to some cool Safari apps, some of which are freeware.

Anyway, I can't say it any better than the guys who run Pimp My Safari do:

" ...
It was started as a reaction to the sites cataloguing Firefox extensions. Many excellent plugins for Safari have been developed, but because Safari doesn’t have an official ‘extension architecture’, many don’t know of these extensions.
..."


----------



## Dimitri12

*msn messenger*

What about msn messenger? i know all you guys hate it because it's missing many of the features found in the Windows versions but hey... it looks good, has some good features and it's not disastrous!http://www.mactopia.com

If you really don't want msn messenger then aMsn will do the trick!


----------



## webwiz23

Dimitri12 said:


> What about msn messenger? i know all you guys hate it because it's missing many of the features found in the Windows versions but hey... it looks good, has some good features and it's not disastrous!http://www.mactopia.com
> 
> If you really don't want msn messenger then aMsn will do the trick!


I belive that both arem pretty bad and they pretty much suck so as a much better replacement is Audium. Supports pretty much all of the messenger formats.
If you are so desperate for audio use Skype and ichat for video.
Even though aMsn has video it's pretty bad.


----------



## jfpoole

I find Geekbench very useful for benchmarking 

http://www.geekpatrol.ca/geekbench/


----------



## Lichen Software

I think I am stuck in the 80's or 90's. 

I really would like to get rid of the dock. It takes up screen real estate. On OS9 there was a drop down menu at the top right hand side of the screen that stayed right out of the way unless you clicked on it. Is there something similar for OS X

Ideally it would show the same info, but be out of the way.

Dave


----------



## thatcomputerguy

so hiding it isn't good enough? it works for me with most apps.


----------



## kevs~just kevs

Lichen Software said:


> I think I am stuck in the 80's or 90's.
> 
> I really would like to get rid of the dock. It takes up screen real estate. On OS9 there was a drop down menu at the top right hand side of the screen that stayed right out of the way unless you clicked on it. Is there something similar for OS X
> 
> Ideally it would show the same info, but be out of the way.
> 
> Dave



Maybe try the hiding option in the Dock preferences?


----------



## lpkmckenna

kevs~just kevs said:


> Maybe try the hiding option in the Dock preferences?


I found the best way to keep the dock from bugging me was to un-hide it, and keep it real small. When you hide it, it keeps popping up when you don't expect it. Since I did that the dock stopped annoying me, and I started to like it.

If Apple wants to do something about screen real estate, they could dump the universal menu bar. The NeXTSTEP "all-contextual" menus were the best solution. Then, put the "menulings" back in the dock like they were before.


----------



## Lichen Software

kevs~just kevs said:


> Maybe try the hiding option in the Dock preferences?



Been there... Did that. 

It still comes up when I do not want it. 

Don't get me wrong. I've been a Mac guy forever, but it just bugs me that I am so annoyed at what is billed as a feature in the new OS.


----------



## rogueToe

I found something on MacUpdate called Dock Death, described as an AppleScript that kills/restores your dock. Seems kinda scarey, though ...


----------



## lpkmckenna

I already started another thread on this, but I thought I better put it here too: Democracy (internet tv). Just amazing software.

Go to http://participatoryculture.org/
Original thread: http://www.ehmac.ca/showpost.php?p=361456&postcount=1


----------



## ArthurDent

Daktari said:


> BluePhoneElite


Unfortunately, not free. US$20.


----------



## ArthurDent

MacDoc said:


> Yeah I'll second google earth BUT it's a CPU/GPU killer. Needs HorsePOWAH big time.


Dual G4 450, 16MB video card, runs fine here. I don't think that's considered a 'beast' of a machine anymore, even with 2 GB of RAM.


----------



## Dimitri12

rogueToe said:


> I found something on MacUpdate called Dock Death, described as an AppleScript that kills/restores your dock. Seems kinda scarey, though ...


BAHAHAHAHAH, maybe it's because i have the giggles but i find that hilarious

Honestly, why would you want to install something called Dock Death....sounds scary ... Too bad there isn't a Dock Death kind of thing for Team Russia men's hockey( i know we lost but is SUX)

Seriously though i don't know if i'd use that script. Looks weird

PS: why would they call it death as opposed to hide or something...death means never comes back...


----------



## Lawrence

Adobe is offering a "Mac only" beta of "Lightroom"

http://labs.macromedia.com/technologies/lightroom/

Nice little app for the digital photographer.

D


----------



## rampart519

My favourite ..VLC. It will play any time of Video
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/


----------



## lpkmckenna

rampart519 said:


> My favourite ..VLC. It will play any time of Video
> http://www.videolan.org/vlc/


But DVD rips look appalling with VLC.


----------



## lpkmckenna

*MilkyWay*

An amazing little picture previewer: MilkyWay. Just read about it today at MacGems. Displays highlighted pics in the Finder in a very customizable floating palette.

link: http://www.lny.mine.nu/Pages/MilkyWay/MilkyWay.html


----------



## PosterBoy

lpkmckenna said:


> But DVD rips look appalling with VLC.


DVD rips as is Video_TS folders or DVD rips as in .avi/.mpg/etc files?

Personally I find both adequate. Not great, but adequate.


----------



## lpkmckenna

I use Handbrake for DVD rips, making h264 vids. They look great in QT but lousy in VLC.


----------



## MacDoc

Yeah I mentioned Milky Way earlier in the thread - terrific program and just sits in the background.

*EasyFind* is a decent Spotlight alternative 
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/11706

and *Dashboard Kickstart* is a treat for constant Dashboard users like me who hate to wait. :clap:

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/28065


----------



## lpkmckenna

MacDoc said:


> Yeah I mentioned Milky Way earlier in the thread - terrific program and just sits in the background.


Really? I did a search but it didn't come up. Let me try again....

Ok, so my search was for "milkyway" instead of "milky way." Sorry MacDoc.


----------



## MacDoc

NP it deserves a second promo as it's hard to explain....... but such a sweet utility. Unobtrusive and does it's job perfectly.....and FREE!!


----------



## Vexel

If you want some neat enhancements to iChat you should check out Chax.

Features include:

User list:

Toggle text status visibility of users
Set font of names, status messages, and group separators
Show animated user icons
Ability to hide iTunes music store links in text statuses
Idle time included in tooltips
Display Address Book nicknames instead of full names
Option to show a warning before messaging mobile users
Hide the audio/video status icon at the top of the user list
Message a specific screen name for people with multiple screen names

Message window:

Option to auto-accept text chats, skipping new message notification window
Show status changes directly in the message window
Disable the smiley button in text input lines
Option to open images sent through direct connect directly in Preview
Send away auto-reply only once per conversation
Save and restore window positions for individual screen names

Other:

Unread message notification in the dock
Growl notifications for new messages
Properly use ICQ accounts without sending text formatting in messages
Automatically set status to away when screensaver is activated
Option to auto-accept file transfers
Hide all iChat windows when iChat is inactive
Always on top option for user lists, text chats, and audio or video chats
Set a custom away auto-reply that is different from the away message
Change the delay of or disable auto-away
New message windows cascade properly instead of always appearing on top of each other
Built-in log viewer
Activity window shows history of user status changes
Warn before quitting while there are active chats
Option to disable pausing of AV chats while there are active file transfers
Disable picture-in-picture in video chats
Automatically reconnect when disconnected


----------



## Daktari

ArthurDent said:


> Unfortunately, not free. US$20.


Yeah, it used to be free.  I dont use it anymore because I got rid of my Motorola V600 and got the Treo 650. BluePhoneElite doesnt play nice with the treo, or rather the treo doesnt play nice with BPE.


----------



## rogueToe

I just tried out MilkyWay -- definitely cool.


----------



## VNJ85

So what apps are must have? I'm a soon to be Mac user and very curious.


----------



## MannyP Design

I know this isn't freeware per sé, but it's a web site dedicated to open-source software:

http://www.opensourcemac.org/

Some of the apps mentioned on this thread are listed, but there are plenty more to check out.


----------



## lpkmckenna

VNJ85 said:


> So what apps are must have? I'm a soon to be Mac user and very curious.


Try everything on this thread. Seriously.


----------



## Snapple Quaffer

Thought I'd breath a wee bit of life back into this thread with these two neat, useful (to me, anyway) pieces of freeware:

Formulate

Desktopple


----------



## capitalK

<I><A HREF="http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/28980">iTunes Statistician</A> allows the user to see a few basic statistics about the iTunes library. The user can see their most played song, artist, album, and genre, as well as how many songs they have listened to in their history.</I>

I actually PayPal'd this guy $5 US to buy him a beer because this program is so simple and fun. Best part is it will add up the amount of times you have played songs and multiply that by the track duration and tell you how many days, week or months you have spent listening to songs.


----------



## capitalK

I also recently PayPal'd <A HREF="http://www.getdemocracy.com/">Democracy</A> some money. A great video browser and downloader (if that makes any sense) that I think was already mentioned.


----------



## MacDoc

Not Free but real cheap - terrific open source screen saver and even Dual binary 








Your screen fills with water and lovely 3d fish swim around in 3 dimensions.

http://www.uselesscreations.com/mac/fish/

•••

Another one for the travel picture crowd

http://www.aeroquartet.com/CubeMovie/info.html










The interface is pretty straight forward - just be careful not to overload the drop box with too many photos at once or it will stall out. 20-30 works but once they are in you can add - I've gotten it up to a 50 minute loop and you can patch them into other QT outputs like FotoMagico

You can control speed and zoom and rotation - I find it a relaxing addition to the second monitor space to see travel memories - I run 4 or 5 at the same time via NicePlayer so there are no frames.
There is a demo on the website and you can run a trial version. Rendering is quicker than FotoMagico.
Nice addition for those that like their photos "active".


----------



## Debbie Antoniadis

*international time zone clocks*



ACfly said:


> This is a great post!
> 
> Anyone know of a freeware that keeps international times from different regions?
> 
> I travel a lot, and always have trouble figuring out what the different time zones..


I use this for international times - I haven't yet regisered, but will.
http://regnault.luc.free.fr/softwares.html


----------



## Vexel

Debbie Antoniadis said:


> I use this for international times - I haven't yet regisered, but will.
> http://regnault.luc.free.fr/softwares.html


What about the World Clock widgets included with OS X Tiger?


----------



## webwiz23

a nice substitute to front row for thoughs computers that dont have it is Centerstage. But i warn you it's still in the alpha stage but it's still pretty good.


----------



## poisonmonkey

webwiz23 said:


> a nice substitute to front row for thoughs computers that dont have it is Centerstage. But i warn you it's still in the alpha stage but it's still pretty good.



Here is another knockoff:

http://www.equinux.com/us/products/mediacentral/index.html


----------



## Vexel

I actually downloaded Media Central.. it's quite the application. If you're using a Mac that doesn't allow for frontrow.. definitely give it a shot. 

Works with the Apple Remote too, for those of you that have Front Row.


----------



## capitalK

poisonmonkey said:


> Here is another knockoff:
> 
> http://www.equinux.com/us/products/mediacentral/index.html



I can't speak for MediaCentral, but CenterStage was in development well before FrontRow was announced and certainly is not a "Knock-off".


----------



## CubaMark

<a href="http://www.celtx.com"><img src="http://www.celtx.com/images/logo.png" align="right" width="172" height="75" alt="[Celtx Logo]" border="0"></a><BR>
Now updated to an impressively mature and feature-rich version 0.9.5.1, and one of those "Get-it-while-it's-still-free" apps, is the St.John's, NFLD-built <b><a href="http://www.celtx.com">Celtx</a></b>
<BR>


> Celtx is the first comprehensive software package designed for people who work in the Pre-Production of Film, TV, Theatre and New Media. It provides all of the tools you need under one application and works on all platforms.
> 
> <b>Story Development Tools</b>
> Celtx includes Scene and Character Development tools that help spur creativity. Use the customizable forms to build out the story line of your project. Any information will be added to your project database and automatically pre-populate your script and reports.
> 
> <b>Professional Script Writing</b>
> Import, write and edit movie scripts using industry standard formatting. Celtx uses ‘Tab’ and ‘Enter’ intuitive writing and all the features expected in a professional application – like Spellchecking, Find and Replace, and auto completion of Character Names and Scene Headings.
> 
> <b>Project Schedule</b>
> Keep track of all your project dates in a shareable calendar.
> 
> <b>Media Rich Breakdowns</b>
> Celtx is the first application that allows creative people to perform media rich breakdowns in order to help pre-visualize and plan their project. Users can complete media rich breakdowns by associating sound files, video clips and digital pictures to their script all of which is auto-saved in a shareable database.
> 
> <b>Customized Production Reports</b>
> Generate customizable Production Reports to help plan and organize your film project.
> 
> <b>Collaboration</b>
> Collaborate with team members by securely sharing your project using the built in Celtx server.


...did I mention it's free?


M


----------



## DBerG

poisonmonkey said:


> Here is another knockoff:
> 
> http://www.equinux.com/us/products/mediacentral/index.html


Really good software! Thanks!


----------



## adb_ii

anyone know of a free (or even shareware) diet/fitness software package? i checked macupdate, but everything looked dated...i need the eyecandy


----------



## webwiz23

I thought i'd revive this thread. What new apps do you have.
Ps: i have a list of my personal favorites on my website Webwiz


----------



## audiodan

Heard of Alice? Free 3D Animation program. Universal. Incredably easy.

http://www.alice.org/

http://www.alice.org/downloads/authoringtool/


----------



## VNJ85

I love this thread, one of my top 10. They'll probably make this its own page/wiki of some sort when they get the new stuff up and running later this summer.

Ok so two shareware programs I have been busting with the last two days.

Synergy -


> The innovative iTunes controller puts you in instant control of your listening from any application thanks to its always-accesible menu bar buttons and user-definable hot keys.


By far this is the best itunes controller program I have seen thus far. Should be included into itunes itself if you want to know my opinion. However since a newer version is on its way (Synergy Advance). I would suggest holding off on purchasing this awesome program even after your trial runs out.

And since "Synergy" is a no go until "Synergy Advance" comes out. Go for the Shareware version of

SizzlingKeys -


> iTunes is the best music player out there, but don't you wish you could control it without interrupting your task at hand? Now you can.
> 
> Control iTunes. Whether it's to pause the player, adjust the volume, skip a track or rate a song, you can do all that and more with simple customizable keystrokes.


I like the program, it is really the same thing as Synergy, however SizzlingKeys has an unlimited trial time, you get all the features as you would in Synergy except for skip functions, thats for the pro version. Honestly for the few bucks it costs it really is worth it. I'm still waiting for Synergy, it just has this feel that I am much more comfortable with. Well give them both a spin see whatcha like!


----------



## JPL

Widget Manager

Widget Manager is a Preference Pane for OSX 10.4 that allows you to inspect, remove, and disable Dashboard Widgets. Widget Manager is a convenient way to manage all the Widgets on your system, including the standard Apple Widgets. Since it handles removing the .wdgt file as well as restarting Dashboard, Widget Manager eliminates Dashboard display issues when you remove a Widget by hand, and is also a great defense against potentially harmful Widgets.

Widget Manager shows you Widget information, such as the version number, so you know when it's time to look for updates. It can also disable Widgets you don't want cluttering up the Widget bar, but don't necessarily want to delete, either.

http://www.downtownsoftwarehouse.com/WidgetManager/


----------



## MacDoc

While not technically free this has a 30 day demo which should serve for most for minor floor plan layouts etc. It's been invaluable as we plan our move

http://www.conceptdraw.com/en/

I found it a bit hard to get going but then it started to get easy.










All sizeable with fills, flips and rotations. Really helps.

•••••

and this HAS been terrific and IS free. Lets you test paint combos on line.
Moving to hardwood floors we just got a peek for visualization.

http://www.seemydesign.com/app/RoomChoicesPage


----------



## MickMac

MacDoc, thanks for the link to seemydesign.com. I'm amazed at how hideous I can make a room, with very little effort!


----------



## maccam

Not sure if this is here, but it works great.

Flock


----------



## webwiz23

Found this recently, its great! The all-in-one diagnostic and maintenance tool for your Mac. It's called TinkerTool system, it got a 5 Star from versiontracker. Check it out! :clap: :clap: :clap:


----------



## capitalK

<A HREF="http://www.avery.co.uk/uk1/downloads/maclabelexpert.jsp">Avery Mac Label Expert</A> for making labels on a Mac with the industry-standard Avery labels. You can do it in Word, but it's nice they made a free program to do it for those of us that don't have it.


----------



## capitalK

<A HREF="http://www.dbachrach.com/opensoft/index.php?page=Todos">Todos</A> is really awesome, not sure if it's been mentioned. Cmd-Option-Ctrl-T will show you EVERY app on your system.

<IMG SRC="http://www.dbachrach.com/opensoft/images/Todos/TodosView.png">


----------



## MacDoc

Excellent Widget I just came across.










http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/information/velaclock.html


----------



## MacDoc

Switched to a MacPro for a bit and my MS Explorer software stopped functioning and I'm REALLY dependent on an automated multi-button mouse 

Searched version tracker.....purrrrrrfect..










Brilliant solution- easy to use. :clap: No wonder MS didn't bother.


----------



## rampancy_fatalin.

MainMenu just got updated for compatibility with 10.4.8 not too long ago.


----------



## mustiman

Some of the apps listed by folks are not freeware. They are simply shareware versions which will expire usually after 30 days.

This is *my* list, not *the* list, so I am sure some have better alternatives or additions, which would help us all...

Smultron or TextWrangler for text editing
Azureus or Transmission for your torrent needs
HandBrake for your DVD conversion needs
ImageWell quick and dirty image editing to upload to posts, blogs, etc
NotLight and EasyFind for Spotlight front-end/replacement
Onyx and MainMenu system maintenance made easy
Quicksilver or Butler application launcher and MUCH more
VoodooPad Lite desktop wiki/notepad
WriteRoom full-screen barebones text editing. Addictive.
FFView or Phoenix Slides image viewers
Burn a wonderful Toast replacement (CD/DVD burning app)

Well there are also the usual suspects, OpenOffice and Camino. ("mmmmm, Camino...") that I didn't mention...You use them, don't you?


----------



## Boji

I've noticed how demo and shareware programs have crept up into this thread. Thanks for providing such an amazing list of freeware programs. I'm going to try out WriteRoom and HandBrake... WriteRoom will hopefully help me out with writing those research projects!

Thanks again!


----------



## gordguide

For those who came to this thread late, please refer to the parent post, where I suggested that we ...

" ... Post your links to freeware apps you think other ehMac users might like. I would prefer if people only post truly free apps here; ie not shareware tryouts (You can always post another topic if you want to point us to shareware or demos). Fill up those Hard Drives with must haves, cool apps, or just plain silly stuff! ..."

I like cool apps as much as the next guy, and I love Mac shareware. I can't stop you from posting whatever you want wherever you want, and I'm not going to try. But, it seems to me the value of the thread is diminished if we let it turn to just "cool apps" instead of the much, much better "free cool apps". Hey, start a cool mac apps- shareware post if you want. We'll all read it.

And now, I'll add another one:
Teleport is insanely great. Use one keyboard and mouse to control multiple Macs. Why buy those KVM switches when you already have a perfectly good Ethernet cable? Save your money, because Teleport is 100% Honest-To-Goodness Freeware. Enjoy.


----------



## rgray

*IP Scanner*

I have found IP Scanner to be immensely useful for diagnosing small networks:

from the read-me: _"IP Broadcaster and IP Scanner belong to a suite of 10base-t interactive tools that leverages Bonjour (the technology formerly known as Rendezvous) to facilitate communication and transfer of data between computers on an ad-hoc LAN. IP Broadcaster is similar to other IP indicators that sit in the menubar, and can be used as such in a stand-alone fashion. It provides LAN and WAN information for multiple network interfaces and refreshes itself at a user specified rate. Where this application distinguishes itself is in its ability to broadcast this data to its sister application IP Scanner, which in turn collects the data from all the IP Broadcaster-enabled machines and sorts them in a column view in realtime, each IP linked to the current username of the person logged in to that machine. Screenshots and more info at http://10base-t.com"_

IP Broadcaster is free and sits in the menu bar to tell you your IP.. IP Scanner is the more useful and free for networks up to 5 items. It hunnts down and lists everything on your nework - very handy.


----------



## HowEver

gordguide said:


> And now, I'll add another one:
> Teleport is insanely great. Use one keyboard and mouse to control multiple Macs. Why buy those KVM switches when you already have a perfectly good Ethernet cable? Save your money, because Teleport is 100% Honest-To-Goodness Freeware. Enjoy.


A better link:
http://www.abyssoft.com/software/teleport/
http://www.abyssoft.com/software/teleport/downloads/teleport.zip


----------



## MacDoc

Gord there are some grey areas - for instance the wonderful SuperDuper is free AND Shareware - for the advanced features.
Quite a few others fall into this zone as well.

I must admit I was surprised to see shareware Widgets. 

•••••••

I'll mention *SeaMonkey* in here since it it's a terrific free browser/emailer that some may not be aware of ( there is a thread on it elsewhere

http://www.ehmac.ca/showthread.php?t=44613&highlight=seamonkey

worth a look - very quickl on older machines and "all in one" design which many including myself admire

http://www.mozilla.org/projects/seamonkey/


----------



## gordguide

MacDoc, f you can run if forever without paying anything and without violating the license terms, it's freeware as far as I'm concerned. Having the ability to unlock advanced features with a shareware fee is fine by me; eg QuickTime, Flip4Mac, etc.

If someone feels that the unlocked features make it worth having around, then feel free to tell us about it.

And now, another cool mac app - freeware:

Play Flash files on the desktop (eg .swf extension; Flash Games, etc) with iSwiff
.

Play FLV movies on the desktop with flvThing at AutoMagic DotCom.

If you don't care about Flash Movies, well, have a look at automagic's site anyway. There are a few other goodies there: how about using mail.app with MSNMail and Hotmail? Or ... how about ... ah, just check it out.


----------



## webwiz23

Found while surfing, Inquisitor, from the people who brough you Acquisition, it adds a little more "umpf" to your safari search at the top. Best of all it's free!


----------



## MacDoc

Just to keep a rather pointless if a bit amusing debate going. 30 day trials are really useful.
I used ConceptDraw to layout my floor plans for the move. It was way more than I needed but useful for the specific short term task and I could find nothing free or shareware to do "a once ever 5 years" task.

I suspect a lot of people use the 30 day trials for similar tasks.
I wonder if we will see that morph into time licences.

••••

I don't think the simple and effective *Rember* has been covered off here.
Excellent and easy to use memory checking tool.
KISS interface



















Best is to let it loop with all apps off and the Finder quit as well.

ANY error is bad.

http://www.kelleycomputing.net:16080/rember/


----------



## gordguide

" ... Just to keep a rather pointless if a bit amusing debate going. ..."

Keep it going all 'ya want, MacDoc. But, I propose, just between you and me, a pact for this thread:
Neither of us can comment on the other's post without a freeware app "ticket".

So, here's my ticket:
NDNoise is a rewrite of AbsoluteDenoiser, an app I've used for a while. It removes noise from digital images. Java, so runs on any platform.

I'm not a fan of demos in general; most of the time they are just too much trouble. I hate developers who offer demos as an excuse to avoid bug testing ("no refunds, even if the thing doesn't work whatsoever ... you should have tried the demo."). Well, they're partly right: I should have walked away when I saw your mandatory demo model of software support, and that's what I do now.


----------



## wtl

My current favorite free application is WriteRoom ( http://www.hogbaysoftware.com/product/writeroom ) which blanks out your screen so you can write, without distractions. I use it a lot for brainstorming and for writing blog posts.


----------



## GratuitousApplesauce

gordguide said:


> Play Flash files on the desktop (eg .swf extension; Flash Games, etc) with iSwiff
> .
> 
> Play FLV movies on the desktop with flvThing at AutoMagic DotCom.


I actually found iSwiff and flvThing a couple of days ago when I was looking for something to grab Flash files from web pages. What I found were a ton of apps to do this for PCs and I was starting to get that old familiar Mac software deprivation feeling. Then I discovered that one can grab Flash files easily from within Safari, using the Activity window, so no extra app necessary. Chalk up another one for the Mac. 

When I was looking around for this software I stumbled on the coolest screensaver. Fenêtres Volantes When it starts, all your open windows as well as your desktop(s) become unhinged and start floating around in space like a deck of cards released into zero g. It works across dual monitors too.

It's supposed to require a minimum 1 Ghz processor, but outside of the fact that I don't see the reflections evident in the picture below, it works fine on my dual 450 Sawtooth and ancient 64 Mb graphics card with Tiger.


----------



## MacDoc

Thanks love the flying window but it's a tough chore on two screens when one is a 30" - even with the MacPro.


----------



## winwintoo

Wingnuts 1 is *free* now that Wingnuts 2 is out.

The link takes you to the Wingnuts 2 page, but look around and find the link for Wingnuts 1 - kept the grandson busy all morning   

Margaret


----------



## GratuitousApplesauce

MacDoc said:


> Thanks love the flying window but it's a tough chore on two screens when one is a 30" - even with the MacPro.


Ahhh ... yer just braggin' 

I imagine it would look quite cool using a MacPro and some more "moderate" sized screens. I hope to see it at some point on a friend's dual G5 PM with 2 monitors.

I'm a sucker for the eye candy.


----------



## kevkwas

Here's a good one if you use OSX's Mail,

http://harnly.net/software/letterbox/


----------



## djstp

GratuitousApplesauce said:


> Ahhh ... yer just braggin'
> 
> I imagine it would look quite cool using a MacPro and some more "moderate" sized screens. I hope to see it at some point on a friend's dual G5 PM with 2 monitors.
> 
> I'm a sucker for the eye candy.


i liked it fer a bit, but got bored real fast.... went back to the matrix 3d screensaver then now onto the soundstream saver

http://pcheese.net/software/soundstream/


----------



## VNJ85

http://www.macappaday.com/

looks like in december a bunch of stuff will be given free... lets hope this isnt some sorta hoax. (which it sort of looks like).


----------



## MacDoc

Not an app but a free solution to an annoying problem that maybe EVERYONE ELSE KNEW...but I didn't. 

Why no VISIBLE date in the menubar?

Solution - and why Apple does not make this default is beyond me.



> Want to see the date in the menubar, as seen at right? Start by opening the International Preferences panel, and clicking the Formats tab.
> 
> In the Dates section, click Customize. Click the Show pop-up and select your choice of Short, Medium, etc. Now place the elements you want in the small "work area," by dragging and dropping them from the Date Elements section. Once placed, you can click on some elements to see other options (Wednesday or Wed, for instance). Once you've built the date string you want, click once in the work area, and hit Command-A then Command-C to select the string and copy it. Now click Cancel to close the window without making any changes.
> 
> In the Times section, click Customize, and set the Show pop-up to Medium. In the small work area below the pop-up, place the curser where you want the date elements to start, and click to position the cursor. Now hit Command-V to paste the elements you just copied. You can further add characters and spaces to customize the look. If you want to remove an element (i.e. the year), click on it and use the Delete key. Click OK, and you'll see the results in the menubar.


a couple of cautions.

There is a step missing - you need to click on International then Customize

You need to be dealing with the Medium formats ( short will not work )

The blue rounded boxes can be copied and pasted between the Time and the Date formats but only the time formats show up in the menu bar.

So this is what you want to end up with in the Time format ( Medium )










and you'll see 

*Fri Nov, 24 2006 2:34 PM *in your menubar :clap:


----------



## yo_paully

Another time/date/menubar option is MenuCalendarClock from Object Park Software. It's compatible with iCal or Entourage.

http://www.objectpark.net/mcc.html

...


----------



## GratuitousApplesauce

yo_paully said:


> Another time/date/menubar option is MenuCalendarClock from Object Park Software. It's compatible with iCal or Entourage.


I've been using MenuCalendarClock for a quite a while now - very useful and takes less space on my crowded menubar than adding the date.

Speaking of menubar stuff, an app I really find useful is Check off. It's a to-do list that sits in your menubar and drops down when you need it. 










I don't think it's been fully developed yet and there might be one of two things I would change about how it works, but I like the simplicity and accessibility of it. I looked around last summer for OS X to-do list apps and this was definitely the best solution in my opinion.

The author's a young guy, who looks pretty busy, (judging from his blog and to-do list screenshot) so I don't know if there will be any new developments for it anytime soon. I emailed him with my praise and my suggestions but never got a reply.


----------



## cloudniner

*24in iMac TOO Bright Get Shades*

If you have a 24inch iMac this is a program to get! It allows you to back down the screen brightness way past the system prefs.

Freebee must get.

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/23370


----------



## MacDoc

Came across this and it's areal good tool to keep around.
Excellent set of filters - has some Wordperfect files float by and nada to read them.

http://www.abisource.com/download/

works just fine - I'll keep this around.


----------



## Roccit

cloudniner said:


> If you have a 24inch iMac this is a program to get! It allows you to back down the screen brightness way past the system prefs.
> 
> Freebee must get.
> 
> http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/23370


Wow. Thanks cloudniner! You just saved my eyes. My 24" iMac at work has been burning my eyes. Even calibrated its still too bright. This app does the trick quick and easy.


----------



## Bjornbro

iTunes XHTML Playlist

Description:
iTunes XHTML Playlist is a program that takes exported iTunes playlists (Plain Text format) and converts them into simple, clean XHTML 1.1/CSS compliant web pages.

Read why I needed it here.


----------



## Vexel

*HamachiX*

Hamachi is an excellent cross-platform VPN software package.

This is the OS X Frontend GUI for it.

http://homepage.mac.com/lxr/homepage/spaceants/hamachix/


----------



## Vexel

Need more than the built in OS X FTP server for serving your files?

Check out CrossFTP. It's java based, but rock solid!

http://www.crossftp.com/


----------



## yo_paully

Vexel said:


> Hamachi is an excellent cross-platform VPN software package.
> 
> This is the OS X Frontend GUI for it.
> 
> http://homepage.mac.com/lxr/homepage/spaceants/hamachix/


I'll second that! HamachiX is great - I use it often for remote control support.


----------



## rogueToe

Hey, it's been awhile since I checked this thread -- great to see it still going with lots of new apps. I'll probably steal a few of them for my freeware site. As for my "freeware ticket" into the thread, how about AntiRSI, a great app for those of us who spend way too much time in front of a computer: "Prevents RSI (repetitive strain injury) and other computer related stress by forcing you to take regular breaks."
http://tech.inhelsinki.nl/antirsi/


----------



## Darien Red Sox

rogueToe said:


> I've got a whole website full of cool freeware!  Check out http://members.shaw.ca/mwrogers/freeforx/ My favourites are NetNewWire Lite, Pastor and MacJanitor.


Cool site 
the URL has changed to http://www.thriftmac.com/


----------



## rogueToe

Thanks, Darien Red Sox

I went back to that old post and updated it.


----------



## Vexel

Inquisitor 3


----------



## gordguide

Okay Mac Music fans, here's a gem for the creative types amongst us:
Music Math is an awesome tool for creating original music on your Mac. Convert musical values like Tempo, Pitch, BPM, etc and play with SMPTE time codes. Universal Binary v4 just released.

Bonus: Even if you are sure you have no use for this whatsoever, the link takes you to a veritable bonanza of Mac music software. Check it, and the rest of the site, out.


----------



## kevs~just kevs

*Just wanted to keep this thread alive...*

and post this: http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/27210&vid=214156

Not a program, but a very fun and free game for any Douglas Adams fans out there. Anyone remember the old DOS version of this? Good times


----------



## fuzzyface

*text app like write room but open source and FREE!*

Hey!
I don't know if this has been posted yet, but here's an OPEN SOURCE app for text/note taking that you can set up in full-screen mode to look like write room. Just change the background in preferences to black, and the text color to green!

http://smultron.sourceforge.net/

Cheers


----------



## csonni

Here is a great game called WIngNuts. It's the only game I keep going back to. Version 2 is not free, but version 1 is.
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/9943
update- Wow. I just downloaded the demo version of WingNuts 2. Nice upgrade.


----------



## kevs~just kevs

*Seashore*

Alternative to GIMP

http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=71670&package_id=180295&release_id=484484


----------



## Vexel

kevs~just kevs said:


> Alternative to GIMP
> 
> http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=71670&package_id=180295&release_id=484484


For the record.. it's PPC only. 

I would also venture to say that it's more of an MS Paint alternative than one for The Gimp. The Gimp is a lot more powerful.


----------



## Heart

Vexel said:


> Inquisitor 3


If you don't have this, get it, you will never live without it!


----------



## GratuitousApplesauce

Heart said:


> If you don't have this, get it, you will never live without it!


Got it a couple of weeks ago, definitely an improvement for web searching.


----------



## MacDoc

Came across a couple.

This is excellent for using your travel photos as a screen saver.

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/28665










Across two screens as well - different collages on each.

•••

The other OSX Planet 1

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/19828










Had a bit of a hiccup with the control panel on an Intel showing up properly but otherwise very nice and FREE!

Many different looks to choose from.

This one I like










The images track real time with live updates. Quite sophisticated for a freebie.
http://gabrielotte.com/osxplanet/main.html


----------



## Optimize

*Seashore's Universal too!*

Here's a link to versiontracker where I got a universal version of seashore for use with my MBP.

I like seashore because I don't have to bother loading X11 or whatever it is to make Gimp work.

Cheers

edit: 

here's the link: http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/25311




Vexel said:


> For the record.. it's PPC only.
> 
> I would also venture to say that it's more of an MS Paint alternative than one for The Gimp. The Gimp is a lot more powerful.


----------



## Vexel

Optimize said:


> Here's a link to versiontracker where I got a universal version of seashore for use with my MBP.
> 
> I like seashore because I don't have to bother loading X11 or whatever it is to make Gimp work.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> edit:
> 
> here's the link: http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/25311


It's not Universal. It's running under Rosetta on your MBP. But, there is one here. http://seashore.sourceforge.net/universal.php


----------



## Apple101

Heres a cool little application that just rocks! Its called XMenu. 



> It provides exactly the same hierarchical access that the old Apple Menu did. There's even an equivalent to the Apple Menu Items folder where you can put aliases to your drives, apps, folders, and files. Unlike the original Apple Menu, XMenu is activated from the right side of the menu bar, and you can choose to place either before or after the Menu Extras. XMenu surpasses the old Apple Menu, by allowing you to choose from five "global" menus to display. The default is "Applications". You may also choose "Developer", "Home", "Documents", or "User-Defined", alone or in combinations. A separate icon for each menu will show in the Menu Bar. You also have control over the order items are sorted by, whether to show custom or generic icons and their size and appearance.


http://www.devon-technologies.com/products/freeware/


----------



## Lawrence

Thought this might be worth adding to the list.

Sketchup 6 by Google:
http://sketchup.google.com/



> Developed for the conceptual stages of design, Google SketchUp is a powerful yet easy-to-learn 3D software tool that combines a simple, yet robust tool-set with an intelligent drawing system that streamlines and simplifies 3D design. From simple to complex, conceptual to realistic, Google SketchUp enables you to build and modify 3D models quickly and easily. If you use Google Earth, Google SketchUp allows you to place your models using real-world coordinates and share them with the world using the Google 3D Warehouse.


----------



## MacDoc

This is a neat app I enjoy - technically Shareware BUT it's very useable for free - most enjoyable to load in pci folders and watch it slowly bounce around the screen.
Good feature set. Highly rated on VT - lots of options as well.









For FREE it just has the unregistered text which I don't find totally annoying.

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/27938

Try the three sided spec ( even the MacPro burps on a full cube reloading every minute.


----------



## Vexel

*Quit All Applications*

http://www.ehmac.ca/showthread.php?t=50225

I've put together a little Applescript App that will basically quit all running applications. Comes in handy if you're going to play a game, or need to free up some resources quickly. As well, it's useful if you like to shut down your applications when you leave your computer.

Anyway, hope you like it. 

You can download and try it out by clicking here


----------



## CubaMark

*Two utilities: Webmailer and Dockyard*

I found *Webmailer* on the OSX Daily site, which led me to *Dockyard*


*Webmailer*

Ever click on a mailto: link, only to scream in frustration as Apple Mail opens yet again? The curse of the webmail user is that there is no way to get around this problem. That is, until now.

Webmailer is an unoriginally named program (actually a preference pane) for Mac OS X that allows you to fix this problem. You can set it to open any URL or run any shell script, complete with the parameters lifted from the mailto link. Webmailer comes with links for several possible webmail sites, including Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, Hotmail, and several webmail programs, such as SquirrelMail or Roundcube. But you can always add your own configuration.











*Dockyard*

Dockyard is a "dock switcher" for Mac OS X. It allows you to have multiple docks and switch between them with one click. Dockyard now comes in three forms: a menu extra, which appears in your menu bar, a widget, which appears in your Dashboard (Mac OS X v10.4 only), and a normal application (called Dockyard Manager) which allows finer control over your docks.


----------



## AquaAngel

rogueToe said:


> I've got a whole website full of cool freeware!  Check out http://members.shaw.ca/mwrogers/freeforx/ My favourites are NetNewWire Lite, Pastor and MacJanitor.
> 
> Update: free for x has morphed into thriftmac. Click on my sig to get there.



I totaly forgot about your site and yet, your in my bookmark, really nice.

But i'de like to contribute a little.
I like menu add ons and dock stuff that makes it look good and also have to be nice and useful. i just got tired of the formal black color of the airport icon and the bluetooth. So here is a link ICOLON




Enjoy


----------



## HowEver

(I just posted this in the "Taboo" thread, but it's worth adding here, I believe.)

http://nukethemfromorbit.com/applications/TabStop.html

*Tabstop* works with the UB Safari:

http://nukethemfromorbit.com/applications/packages/TabStop_v1.1.2.zip

Enjoy.



> TabStop
> TabStop is a SIMBL plugin that displays a warning when you attempt to quit or close a window in Safari that contains multiple tabs. Very handy, if you're used to keeping dozens of tabs around and you're tired of accidentally Command-Q'ing instead of Command-W'ing. TabStop is a Univeral Binary.
> If you know a language that TabStop is not localized for and would like to contribute, please get in touch with me at
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> . Just think of all the fame and fortune that will come your way once I thank you on my website for your contribution. Seriously, Jakub is a millionaire with two hit television shows after his contribution.
> 
> Download
> TabStop v1.1.2 is available here


----------



## thatcomputerguy

AquaAngel said:


> I totaly forgot about your site and yet, your in my bookmark, really nice.
> 
> But i'de like to contribute a little.
> I like menu add ons and dock stuff that makes it look good and also have to be nice and useful. i just got tired of the formal black color of the airport icon and the bluetooth. So here is a link ICOLON
> Enjoy


thanks AquaAngel! - i just downloaded iColon and love it. i didn't realize how boring the standard menu bar was until i got some colour in it  :clap:


----------



## Canuckmakem

Here's where I find my free software:

http://www.freemacware.com/


----------



## duosonic

Thanks for the link to freemacware.com - it's a great resource.


----------



## MacDoc

iColon very nice :clap: thanks

Anyone got an app to give some choices to the menubar - ir transparency/colour without going to a full "skin"?? Even an "invert" would be neat.


----------



## MacDoc

http://applications.linux.com/article.pl?sid=07/03/09/218202&from=rss

googlemail import


----------



## Ottawaman

*QuickShareIt*



> QuickShareIt - File sharing delivery tool for mac
> http://app.quickshareit.com
> 
> Quote:
> Easily Upload Any Type of File
> Quicker and More Convienent than ImageShack, YouSendIt or anything else!
> Unlimited Bandwidth (Serve it to the world!)
> Drag & Drop 1 File or 100 Files (Multiple files or folders automatically get zipped before they're uploaded)
> Get the URL to your file FAST! (QuickShareIt automatically copies the URL to your clipboard)
> And best of all, It's Free!
> you just put the app in your dock, and drop whatever you want onto the app.. and it uploads it to their servers and copies the URL to your clipboard


http://app.quickshareit.com


----------



## kevs~just kevs

http://customsolutionsofmaryland.50megs.com/computerglasses.htm/
for the visually challenged Mac user...


----------



## kevs~just kevs

*DScreen*

http://www.marcorotatori.com/index.php?p=DScreen

Pretty cool. it runs a screen saver of your choice as your wallpaper. I like using the iTunes art work screensaver with it. I'm sure it's a cpu hug, but it's running well on my iMac.


----------



## adb_ii

Ottawaman said:


> http://app.quickshareit.com


thanks! perfect for me!


----------



## AquaAngel

that's kewl, i use to put a code in the terminal to do it, but this makes it easier. i like it.
that screen saver running in the background is really nice. Makes it better than having a solid picture in the background. animation is way better. 
Thanks


----------



## SINC

Not sure if this was posted here before, but if you want to download YouTube videos or Flash presentations from the net, this beta of FLVR works great with Safari and is dead easy to use. The downloads wind up in your "Movies" folder.

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/32110


----------



## thatcomputerguy

my new personal favorite app is actually a dashboard widget, but SO handy for updating apps. 

http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/status/appupdate.html


----------



## Boju

I use very handy free FLV Player. Can be useful for same fans of youtube videos as me 

Here it is:
FLV Player


----------



## rgray

*Speedup, Cleanup for Mail.*

If you have noticed Mail is slower than it once was perhaps you need to clean up the Envelope Index database used by Mail. Envelope Index keeps track of the comings and goings and movements of messages and can get quite large - if you have never done this and have upgraded with Migration Assistant it probably has data back to when you started using Mail. See a discussion at Hawk Wings on this subject. BTW for those who don't already know, Hawk Wings is a compendium of all things Mail - very useful. The process has been automated by Vacuummail from Musings from Mars. For a review see Hawk Wings. The first time I did this it made a huge difference in the responsiveness of Mail.

YMMV


----------



## rgray

*WebExport iPhoto plugin*

I used WebExport (an iPhoto plugin) with its SimpleViewer template to make a little Flash show.



Enjoy, if only to see how cool this WebExport plugin works.


----------



## rgray

Spintriplet's AirTrafficControl - a useful network snooping widget - gets updated - is now Universal.


----------



## MACSPECTRUM

thatcomputerguy said:


> my new personal favorite app is actually a dashboard widget, but SO handy for updating apps.
> 
> http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/status/appupdate.html



thank you
thank you
thank you


----------



## kevs~just kevs

*Sticky Windows*

I found this one on Digg. Seems pretty useful to help clear screen clutter.

http://www.donelleschi.com/stickywindows/


----------



## GWR

I have been running Linux for a while and have just recently started using my Mac again and I really miss using Virtual Desktops. Then I found Desktop Manager. A really cool app that lets you switch virtual desktops using various animations (I really like the "cube" which is similar to the OS X "fast user switching" effect, except it is used to switch between virtual desktops!!!). It is an Open Source application licensed under the GPL (ie. It is Free and Open).

A really cool screensaver I just recently found: Lotsawater.
Description from the developers website:
This screensaver renders a fairly realistic water effect over your desktop, showing it distorted through the wavy surface of the water as raindrops fall on the surface.
It uses quite a bit of CPU power. There are configuration options to vary the accuracy of the simulation to fit the processing power available.


----------



## GratuitousApplesauce

GWR said:


> A really cool screensaver I just recently found: Lotsawater.
> Description from the developers website:
> This screensaver renders a fairly realistic water effect over your desktop, showing it distorted through the wavy surface of the water as raindrops fall on the surface.
> It uses quite a bit of CPU power. There are configuration options to vary the accuracy of the simulation to fit the processing power available.


I like the screen saver. The same site has some other very cool screen savers on it too. Thanks.


----------



## MacDoc

Oldie but goodie just updated *Dali Clock*

Dali Clock 2.23 – Mac OS X – VersionTracker

Lots of options of placement and transparency and having a floating big numeral transparent clock I find useful.....and it's free.


----------



## jonmon

You Control for iTunes

http://www.yousoftware.com/tunes/


----------



## CubaMark

*Picturesque - easy/cool image effects*

*Picturesque*



M


----------



## wtl

*Mozy*

I'm not sure if this falls into this category or not, but I think it does.

Mozy (https://mozy.com/?ref=E3WT78) is a online back up service that allows you to store 2 GB of data for free, or you can upgrade it for $5/mth for "unlimited". 

I've been using the free service for nearly 20 minutes now, and so far, so good. The registration process was painless as was the software install. Obviously, I haven't backed up everything, so I'm being selective. I already have an extensive back up plan in place, so this is more of an experiment to see how well it works.

Caveat; the ref=E3WT78 at the end of the link garners me some extra storage space for each person who signs up and uses the service.


----------



## MacDoc

Fuzzy clock

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/11278

with a sense of humour too :clap:


----------



## macsackbut

wtl said:


> I'm not sure if this falls into this category or not, but I think it does.
> 
> Mozy (https://mozy.com/?ref=E3WT78) is a online back up service that allows you to store 2 GB of data for free, or you can upgrade it for $5/mth for "unlimited".
> 
> I've been using the free service for nearly 20 minutes now, and so far, so good. The registration process was painless as was the software install. Obviously, I haven't backed up everything, so I'm being selective. I already have an extensive back up plan in place, so this is more of an experiment to see how well it works.
> 
> Caveat; the ref=E3WT78 at the end of the link garners me some extra storage space for each person who signs up and uses the service.


Looks like it might be a good app eventually, but there appear to be a few bugs (check out this post and discussion over at The Apple Blog). 

Personally, I haven't tried to back up anything with it because when I selected a folder to back up, it did not "see" all the files in the folder, and some of the file sizes it gave were way off. I'll wait for the next update. 

That said, it does look like it has a lot of potential as a Mac app. I'll be following it closely.


----------



## DDKD726

*Dockables*

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/system_disk_utilities/dockables.html

saw this on the staff picks section at apple downloads. I love it!


----------



## thatcomputerguy

DDKD726 said:


> http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/system_disk_utilities/dockables.html
> 
> saw this on the staff picks section at apple downloads. I love it!


thanks for the link - those are pretty cool, but i find my dock is getting too full. need to have it wrap around the corner and up the side of the screen


----------



## kevs~just kevs

thatcomputerguy said:


> thanks for the link - those are pretty cool, but i find my dock is getting too full. need to have it wrap around the corner and up the side of the screen


Dock to crowded? Try Overflow
Stunt Software - Overflow


----------



## thegreenapple

VirtueDesktops » Downloads

desktop software with the slapbook or light sensor switch built in


----------



## thegreenapple

Stellarium is a free open source planetarium for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope.

Stellarium


----------



## messed_kid

thegreenapple said:


> Stellarium is a free open source planetarium for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope.
> 
> Stellarium


That's beautiful! Thanks for the tip  downloading ...as soon as i finish typing this comment... 3...2...1... NOW!


----------



## messed_kid

hehe, just thought I'd add, for a little fun... in Stellarium, in object search , type in Earth and hit spacebar (spacebar = focuses on the selected object)

it made me laugh the first time I did it :lmao:


----------



## Elric

RobTheGob said:


> Clutter
> 
> Still one of my favourite apps.


This program stopped working the other day! EEEK HELP! There is no update to get it working again!

Sure the Canadian artists search sucked balls, but I could always find something to drag into it. Any other Album art search tool Apps out there?

HELP ME!


----------



## james_squared

MacDoc said:


> Fuzzy clock
> 
> http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/11278
> 
> with a sense of humour too :clap:


Yes, I've used Fuzzy Clock for a couple of years now and it is quite nice. It's now "quarter to four". Isn't that exciting.

James


----------



## rgray

Elric said:


> This program stopped working the other day! EEEK HELP! There is no update to get it working again!
> 
> Sure the Canadian artists search sucked balls, but I could always find something to drag into it. Any other Album art search tool Apps out there?
> 
> HELP ME!


YVG Software Services :: iTunes Art Importer 0.9.2

There could be others.... Check out http://dougscripts.com


----------



## rgray

Iris wrings more fun out of iSight. Currently in public beta, but FREE!!!


> Take Snapshots
> Make Movies
> Record TimeLapse Movies
> Detect unwelcome visitors, with Motion Detection, and Email Alerting
> Broadcast your video over the web, with Iris's built in WebCam
> Browse your snapshots and movies in Iris's built-in Gallery. Send them by email, upload them to Flickr, or export them to view on your iPod, Apple TV, or iPhone.


----------



## wtl

Cool! I've downloaded Iris and am playing with it now.


----------



## Elric

rgray said:


> YVG Software Services :: iTunes Art Importer 0.9.2
> 
> There could be others.... Check out http://dougscripts.com



DUDE!

No Mac Version!?


----------



## rgray

Elric said:


> DUDE!
> 
> No Mac Version!?


Ouch!  my bad..... 

Apple - Downloads - Album Cover Finder - iPod + iTunes


----------



## CubaMark

*Finally* someone came out with: "Download Comment"

...it's a Safari add-on that inserts the URL of the item you download into the file's Spotlight Comments area! 

M


----------



## MMMMMike

I've had a Mac for about a month. But the first thing I needed to do was to have my .mp4 videos icon show as a sample pic. CoCoThumbX to the rescue.
I can drag one, some or all my videos (photos etc etc) and drop them on the CoCo icon and in a matter of seconds, all my files now have thumbnail icons.


www.MacWorld.com/2882/ said:


> CocoThumbX is a freeware thumbnail creator for Mac OS X.
> It is capable of creating and removing thumbnails from the common image file formats as BMP, TIFF, TARGA, GIF (animated), PNG, JPG, PICT, PDF, EPS, ICNS, JP2, SGI ... text files such as DOC, RTF, RTFD, HTML, CSS, TXT and QuickTime supported Movies.
> CocoThumbX creates a thumbnail from your image and add the thumbnail as icon to your image file.
> CocoThumbX Mac OS X Thumbnail Creator


This program is also described in the Mac Gem section of September's MacWorld. As per the article, there is a Beta version that watches your specific directory and automatically creates the thumbnail icon. Sweet.

Mike


----------



## HowEver

I just used Burn to write a DVD that iDVD, Toast and Finder wouldn't burn. A great little app and, as appropriate here, free.





mustiman said:


> Some of the apps listed by folks are not freeware. They are simply shareware versions which will expire usually after 30 days.
> 
> This is *my* list, not *the* list, so I am sure some have better alternatives or additions, which would help us all...
> 
> Smultron or TextWrangler for text editing
> Azureus or Transmission for your torrent needs
> HandBrake for your DVD conversion needs
> ImageWell quick and dirty image editing to upload to posts, blogs, etc
> NotLight and EasyFind for Spotlight front-end/replacement
> Onyx and MainMenu system maintenance made easy
> Quicksilver or Butler application launcher and MUCH more
> VoodooPad Lite desktop wiki/notepad
> WriteRoom full-screen barebones text editing. Addictive.
> FFView or Phoenix Slides image viewers
> Burn a wonderful Toast replacement (CD/DVD burning app)
> 
> Well there are also the usual suspects, OpenOffice and Camino. ("mmmmm, Camino...") that I didn't mention...You use them, don't you?


----------



## MacDoc

A good compendium

» 35 Absolutely Essential Mac Apps


----------



## rgray

*ringtones for iphone - itoner*

Ambrosia Software, Inc. -- utilities/itoner


----------



## MacDoc

An entire classroom

Software

:clap:


----------



## MacDoc

Growing list....the best of OpenSource for MAc


http://www.ajaxflakes.com/open-source/top-100-best-open-source-mac-software/


----------



## MacDoc

And another excellent compilation split into categories. :clap:

super OS X menubar items


----------



## thatcomputerguy

MacDoc said:


> And another excellent compilation split into categories. :clap:
> 
> super OS X menubar items


nice! good one MacDoc. i found a few to try out, thanks.:clap:


----------



## DDKD726

*iClock*



Chipper said:


> Consider iClock. You can find it on versiontracker.com


I love iClock! iClock 3.0.5 - MacUpdate

The stop watch is great for timing presentations. I also like having the full date in the menu bar. Great little free app!


----------



## chas_m

You guys have done all the hard work for me, but let me mention a few that I didn't see on some of the later pages (I didn't read the entire thread, so don't shoot me if they've been mentioned!).

1. Bean -- it's a little word processor. It does "basic" MS Word compatibility (even the "new" XML-based format), and clearly lets you know IN ADVANCE what MS Word features it DOESN'T do. Ninety-nine percent of Word docs I get open in Bean perfectly. It does a character and word count right on the page, is open source, works VERY well and is slick as all get-out. It's basic but beautiful. Read up on it, try it out.

2. RapidoWrite and RapidoSMTP and RapidoSerial from App4Mac - RapidoWrite had some issues in Leopard with Mail, iCal and Safari 3, making those apps act funky. Problem has now been resolved, so they are back on my recommended list. RapidoWrite is an easy text-snippet-inserter, and RapidoSMTP sets up your own outgoing "localhost" SMTP server with one click (VERY handy on the road, let me tell ya!). They make other free (and not free) apps as well, check them out.

3. XPad from Garrett Murray -- of all the little "notepad" type apps, this is my favourite. Simple, clean, basic features, export to iPod, easy to use, free!


----------



## sashmo

Does anyone know of a freeware app that allows you to record streamed audio?
Thanks for your help.


----------



## krug1313

Yuuguu, It's allows you to take control of another mac or pc while using a mac and vise versa. I have been using for awhile and love it.... And it's free. Dead easy to use and works great.

Yuuguu. See together. Be together.


----------



## sashmo

Thanks for replying Krug1313. What I was looking for was an app that would record streamed audio on its own machine. An app like Wiretap, which doesn't work with intel machines, or an app like Audio Hijack, which is shareware..


----------



## passmoregas23

Sashmo...try this

StreamRipperX

works like a charm...


----------



## Katsmeow

Sashmo, I use and love Audio Hijack. The quality is excellent and you can rip any and all kinds of audio from all applications.


----------



## sashmo

Hey Passmore, does StreamRipperX work with Leopard and intel machines? I get a reported error -6.


----------



## passmoregas23

It works fine for me


----------



## CubaMark

This is a thread that should never die.... 

Although it's probably be mentioned in here previously, I want to sing the praises of the Open-Source Stellarium (now at 0.91).

Apart from being just a really-nifty program for learning the constellations, etc., I discovered two things about it tonight quite by accident. 

1/ You can zoom in-and-out. Imagine, I've had Stellarium on my laptop for well over two years, and I never, ever knew that. A careless two-fingered-swipe on my trackpad revealed it to me.

2/ Is possible because of the previous item. For the heck of it, I zoomed in on Mars... and would you believe, this program includes astronomical photography? Not the highest-quality available, but enough to make this a really nice feature. I'd like to see, particularly, the images of the Sombrero galaxy, etc., updated to their latest hi-res versions, but still... very cool too zoom in on Neptune, etc., and see the moons!

Long story short - if you have even a passing interest in astronomy, download this program and play around. It even has a "red" night-mode to keep your eyes adjusted when using it outside at night! 

M


----------



## Adrian.

wiretap pro. came with the macheist bundle a while ago.


----------



## seymorerage

Thanks for BURN it works great.


----------



## chas_m

sashmo said:


> Thanks for replying Krug1313. What I was looking for was an app that would record streamed audio on its own machine. An app like Wiretap, which doesn't work with intel machines, or an app like Audio Hijack, which is shareware..


I'm quite late to this conversation, but here's something that is a) free and b) works:

FStream 1.3.5 - MacUpdate

and here's another one (PPC, so it run in Rosetta, but should work):

RadioRecorder 1.08 - MacUpdate


----------



## MacDoc

Yay yippee - ....it's back.!!!!!!










Bronson Beta - Mail.appetizer - Beta



> Hi there,
> 
> sorry for being late to the party.
> 
> *I've released an update for Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard):*
> 
> Bronson Beta - Mail.appetizer - Beta
> 
> Note that this is the very first beta release for
> 10.5. You might encounter problems.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Stefan Schüßler


So far works perfectly :clap:

Just terrific for me - pops up a configurable window with incoming mail then disappears.
Can be huge text so even if I'm not right at the screen I can read it - pops up on top of other apps ....while I was typing this one came in and I could read it without ever touching mail.

You can set the timing for how long it stays up, transparency etc.
Big productivity tool for me with the email volume I have. 
Thank you Stefan.....
Looks like this ( has the full message of course this just a clip )- you set the window size, location and text size and transparency plus how long it stays in place.
I have it on my second screen.


----------



## iBrodie

Macdoc you beat me to it!! I was just coming over to post the same thing. Woo Hoo I am so happy its back.


----------



## screature

sashmo said:


> Thanks for replying Krug1313. What I was looking for was an app that would record streamed audio on its own machine. An app like Wiretap, which doesn't work with intel machines, or an app like Audio Hijack, which is shareware..


Late coming in on this thread but WireTap Studio works on Intel Macs, works on my Mac Pro no probs. (it is not freeware though, but just wanted to point out that the latest does work on MacIntels)


----------



## Ottawaman

*SurplusMeter- measures the download and upload traffic on your Internet connection*



> If you have a broadband service with a monthly download limit, you may find SurplusMeter comes in handy. It measures the download and upload traffic on your Internet connection and keeps a record of your traffic volume. It gives you all kinds of useful output statistics, like daily allowance, average daily usage, accumulated surplus, and more. SurplusMeter is open-source, and is released under the GNU General Public Licence.


http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/20884/surplusmeter


----------



## chas_m

Great idea -- too bad it's PPC only.

I've written the author and dangled the "donation" carrot in front of him to try and get a Universal version done. Join me, won't you?


----------



## DDKD726

If you feel hourly backups are a bit much on Time Machine try TimeMachineEditor


----------



## rampancy_fatalin.

OpenOffice 3 has now hit beta status - the notable feature of which being that it's "Aqua" (i.e. the UI is less than stellar but it doesn't need X11 anymore). Also, it's still free. 

On that note, NeoOffice (the original freeware OS X port of OpenOffice) just came out with a new patch enabling the use of Karelia Software's iMedia Browser and swipe gesture support for newer MacBook Pros and the MacBook Air.


----------



## CubaMark

*Chax updated to 2.1.2*

iChat aficionados, rejoice!

Chax

_Note: OS X 10.5+ required._


----------



## winwintoo

*Mind Mapping anyone?*

MindNode


----------



## eMacMan

screature said:


> Late coming in on this thread but WireTap Studio works on Intel Macs, works on my Mac Pro no probs. (it is not freeware though, but just wanted to point out that the latest does work on MacIntels)


Not sure if this would still work past Tiger, but I took my free Jaguar version and just dragged it into both my Panther & my Tiger OS. The corresponding version of WireTap then gave me limited free capabilities. I can record up to 20 minutes and the output is AIFC, the size being about double that of a very high quality MP3 file. Most other features are disabled, and you have to wait for the dialog box when you launch but it does just fine for my simple needs.


----------



## rogueToe

It's amazing to see this thread still going. Since it was part of the inspiration for my Mac freeware site, I thought you might be interested in knowing I just relaunched with a bold new look. And If you have any suggestions, by all means send them my way.

thriftmac


----------



## CubaMark

I just discovered what looks like a nice replacement for SnapsProX - and it's free...

Jing (watch the intro movie - it's pretty funny - in fact, the entire project website is pretty irreverant)

A couple of tips that aren't obvious from the application itself...

1/ once installed, there is a yellow blob in the top-right corner of your screen - click it to access the preferences or to start a new recording

2/ although the focus is on sharing, and they talk a lot about uploading content to their servers for easy sharing, the "file" option will save your content to the directory of your choice. I wasn't sure whether it was *also* uploaded, but I can now confirm that it only puts it where you tell it to. 

3/ File output is .SWF

4/ The account you created can be accessed at Screencast.com (which is how I confirmed the lack of uploaded content)

M.


----------



## magnuscanadiana

rogueToe said:


> It's amazing to see this thread still going. Since it was part of the inspiration for my Mac freeware site, I thought you might be interested in knowing I just relaunched with a bold new look. And If you have any suggestions, by all means send them my way.
> 
> thriftmac


WOW! No suggestions just yet, I'm gonna peruse through now but I wanted to tell you I'm loving the new look!


----------



## DDKD726

Time to resurrect this thread yet again!

I've been playing with this app all morning, pretty fun way to spice up your desktop by changing the dock!

It's called PimpMyDock

malcom-mac: home

Some pretty cool themes available here: malcom-mac: home


----------



## brashley46

*email notifier app*

MyPopBarrier, by Tom Robisson.
Lovely app that does what PopPeeper does for Windows.


----------



## MacDoc

Oops thought you meant Mail.appetizer

Mail.appetizer - Mac OS X Mail New Mail Announcer Review - About Email
I think that's been posted a couple times BUT DAMMIT ITS FABULOUS :clap:

I set it up so I can read it from across the room. 

The developer actually emailed me when he updated to a Leopard version - apparently he had been deluged with requests.
He even wrote me a cool little app to put the name of my boot drive in the Menu Bar


----------



## Betty Woo

OK... since I'm going through my periodic iTunes love/hate phase, I use these two freebies to basically eliminate the need to have open iTunes windows cluttering up my desktop when I go searching for a specific song, playlist or album:

1. DockArt

Replaces the iTunes icon in the dock with the album art of the song being played (if there is any) - nice for a visual cue for the length of the song.

2. You Control: Tunes – Control and access your iTunes music library from any custom menu 

Creates simple iTunes buttons in the menu bar. Once a song starts, it'll run a ribbon with the artist and song title before reverting back to the buttons. Buttons come in a good selection of styles. Me? I chose the green buttons in honour of Limey, my original 333MHz iMac, and it matches the colour of my healthy hard drive indicator of the SMARTReporter application beside it. SMARTReporter, by the way, I learned from this thread... .

Another good thing about this application is that there's an arrow button as part of the menu bar set. Press it and the entire iTunes tag description drops down; to further access the entire iTunes library arranged by artist, simply cursor down to another toggle.

Finally, if you want a good song title and artist visual text box, the application allows a very decent customable overlay window that you can put in different desktop positions and can futz with the opacity.

I've arrange the window to look good against a dark desktop wallpaper (but is still readable when the windows appears over a white background like a web page). It displays a small display of the album art, song, artist and time. I've set it to fade after a few seconds.

And with these two things in place, if all I'm going to do is listen to my iTunes Genius or playlists or songs, with these two apps I find that I don't have to use iTunes' interface at all once I start it.

Not sure if these two work with Leopard, though. I never bothered leaving Tiger (OS 10.4) that came on my iMac.


----------



## Betty Woo

Ottawaman said:


> Download SurplusMeter for Mac - Keeps a record of your internet traffic volume (was NetTrack). MacUpdate Mac Internet Utilities Software Downloads


This will really help reign me in since I have a tendency to download with impunity and Shaw's limit is 60GB up/down per month.

Thanks for the pointer.


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## GratuitousApplesauce

Not an application although the function of this web page replaces an application.

I always find it a bit of a pain to go to fontbook to find those odd characters or foreign punctuation marks to put in text. And I can never remember the key combos to make them.

You can go to this site, which is a single web page:

⌘C ⌘V Character

Copy the character you need and then paste it into your doc. I keep it handy in Safari's bookmark bar.


☜☞
☺☹
♪♫
æ
Ç
½​
Edit: I just discovered that when you hold the option key and select characters on the web page you can save a set of multiple characters to your clipboard, instead of one at a time.

✔☟☝☞☜●♣♦♥※
ÅÜÑÔß€¶​


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## MacDoc

Useful as it always annoyed me that Mail was vertical challenged.

WideMail


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## Lawrence

Shame I can't post links to app's on the iTunes store,
Otherwise I'd provide a link to the "Red Rocket" app available through iTunes.

This app was on sale all through Christmas for .99¢,
But now it's back up to $2.99, Even at $2.99 it's well worth it.

It provides you with Times for Buses and Streetcars as well as Subway routes.
A very invaluable application to have in your pocket.

That's only if you live in Toronto that is.
(Sorry not a freeware)

But if you want freeware...get the whoopee cushion for your iPod Touch.


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## winwintoo

dolawren said:


> Shame I can't post links to app's on the iTunes store,
> Otherwise I'd provide a link to the "Red Rocket" app available through iTunes.
> 
> This app was on sale all through Christmas for .99¢,
> But now it's back up to $2.99, Even at $2.99 it's well worth it.
> 
> It provides you with Times for Buses and Streetcars as well as Subway routes.
> A very invaluable application to have in your pocket.
> 
> That's only if you live in Toronto that is.


You mean like this: Red Rocket


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## Lawrence

winwintoo said:


> You mean like this: Red Rocket


Well done, Didn't know it could be done, Thanks.


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## gordguide

" ... Late coming in on this thread but WireTap Studio works on Intel Macs, works on my Mac Pro no probs. (it is not freeware though, but just wanted to point out that the latest does work on MacIntels) ..."

" ... ot sure if this would still work past Tiger, but I took my free Jaguar version and just dragged it into both my Panther & my Tiger OS. The corresponding version of WireTap then gave me limited free capabilities. ..."

Just thought I would mention that Wire Tap Pro, last version 1.3.4 (2007), which was replaced by Wire Tap Studio, works fine in 10.5x on Intel. A lot of people may have a free license to it, it was a MacHeist Free App at one time.

You can do much more with that version than with the demo version of Studio.


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## eMacMan

It may be that WireTap Pro is usable as freeware, I carried over the original WT from Jaguar but not sure that was necessary. If so some of the save options are crippled but the default AIFC works fine.


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## MacDoc

Very nicely done - simple and works

Product Description:
Screeni is a free Mac applet which allows you to display your screensaver as your desktop background!

Screeni 1.0 software download - Mac OS X - VersionTracker


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## rgray

MacDoc said:


> Very nicely done - simple and works
> 
> Product Description:
> Screeni is a free Mac applet which allows you to display your screensaver as your desktop background!
> 
> Screeni 1.0 software download - Mac OS X - VersionTracker


or "just"  type this in terminal


Code:


/System/Library/Frameworks/ScreenSaver.framework/Resources/ScreenSaverEngine.app/Contents/MacOS/ScreenSaverEngine -background


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## rgray

dolawren said:


> Well done, Didn't know it could be done, Thanks.


Control-click the app picture in the App Store:


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## rgray

Does the screen saver/dimmer interrupt videos from youtube and the like? Do you keep touching the trackpad to get the screen bright again? Try Caffeine









> Caffeine is a tiny program that puts an icon in the right side of your menu bar. Click it to prevent your Mac from automatically going to sleep, dimming the screen or starting screen savers. Click it again to go back. Hold down the Command key while clicking to show the menu.


Review: TidBITS Problem Solving: Caffeine Helps Video-Playing Macs Stay Awake


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## MrsMime

Caffeine may very well be my favorite app. I use it so often sometimes I forget that it didn't come with my Mac.


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## rgray

*Perian's Type Installer.*

Perian is a great plugin to allow Quicktime to open many file types. A problem with Perian is that files with extensions like MKV or DIVX aren't given a preview or icon, even though they open nicely from the Finder. Perian's Type Installer (was PerianAddFile) patches QuickTime Player's Info.plist file to automatically handle Perian filetypes and give them appropriate icons. Now compatible with Leopard.


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## adam.sn

MrsMime said:


> Caffeine may very well be my favorite app. I use it so often sometimes I forget that it didn't come with my Mac.


Same here - i LOVE it. I don't know what i did before I have it and I install it on all my friends macs. It makes watching tv shows online 1000x times easier.


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## matriculated

QuickSynergy:
More useful when you have a Macbook - Synergy allows you to control multiple Macs (or PCs) with one keyboard. Sort of like using multiple monitors but different.  I used this on the weekend: one Mac had my Gmail account open so I could see the updates my client wanted to make to their website and the other Mac had the site open for editing.

This is based on the terminal version of Synergy but wrapped in a easy to use GUI.


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## johnb1

*cool mac apps-freeware*

I'm sure this has been done like dinner
but how about Boxer?-lets you run DOS stuff, ie, games, for free
and it 's easy to use
get it at boxerapp.com
game installation can be a bit challenging though

just my 2 cents

John B


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## CubaMark

Want a different desktop image for each of your workspaces?

SpaceSuit


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## Travellin007

rgray said:


> Does the screen saver/dimmer interrupt videos from youtube and the like? Do you keep touching the trackpad to get the screen bright again? Try Caffeine
> View attachment 6777
> 
> 
> Review: TidBITS Problem Solving: Caffeine Helps Video-Playing Macs Stay Awake


Thank you. I watch my fav hockey team on streaming video, it's surprising the moments the screen decides to go to screensaver, he shoots...he (insert screensaver here). This is going to help alot with that.


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## CubaMark

Stepping into the danger zone...

we have iBored, a hex editor for messing with disk sectors (ah, that takes me back...) 

and for those who want to "spruce up" Leopard, we have... iLeopard!


M


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## ScanMan

For Mac RAW shooters and PS users. Colour to B&W tones that are easy to implement and look great. This guy's traditional selenium, platinum and gold tones are a real treat.

TLR B&W Toning | The Light's Right

TLR B&W Split Toning Lightroom Presets | The Light's Right

TLR B&W Split Toning ACR Presets | The Light's Right


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## ScanMan

Here's a groaner, but one I use often when working on my site.

Free Ruler for Mac OS X


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## rgray

*Mail Followup Plug-in*

I find this plug-in incredibly useful for that extra thought that occurs just after I send a message to colleagues when we re collaborating on a piece of research. I use it almost every day.

MailFollowup Home Page


> *Background*
> 
> I have long used Apple's Mail application, and have generally been very pleased with it. However I regularly found myself wanting to send an additional thought or comment to the original recipients of an email message, i.e. to "follow up" on the message. The "Reply All" option wasn't really what I wanted, because it would put only the original sender in the To field, and everyone else in the Cc field. This would make it seem like I was primarily addressing the original sender, and including others simply for their information. (Personally, I pay closer attention to mail that is sent "To" me than mail where I am included in the "Cc" field.)
> 
> Instead what I wanted in this case was to send a quoted "follow up" message to the original recipients, as they appeared in the original To, Cc, and Bcc fields. To accomplish this I usually did a "Reply All" and then manually moved the original To recipients from the Cc field back to the To field. This got old, and so I set out to develop a Mail application plugin that did what I really wanted. With some help from Scott Morrison (see below) I was able to develop a MailFollowUp plugin. As with my MailRecent plugin, I wrote this MailFollowUp plugin for myself, but hope that others might find it useful too.





> *Usage*
> 
> Once installed (see instructions below) you should be able to select one or more messages and then choose "Follow Up" from either the Message or contextual menus. You can also use the keyboard shortcut -Shift-O. If you initially select a portion of the text from the body of the original email, only that (quoted) text will appear in the followup. A Follow Up toolbar button button can be added via the toolbar customization panel, either as a stand-alone FollowUp button, or in a Reply-Reply All-Follow Up-Forward group.


----------



## Jaguar44

*why DOS*



johnb1 said:


> I'm sure this has been done like dinner
> but how about Boxer?-lets you run DOS stuff, ie, games, for free
> and it 's easy to use
> get it at boxerapp.com
> game installation can be a bit challenging though
> 
> just my 2 cents
> 
> John B


Does anyone still use DOS?


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## kubes

adam.sn said:


> Same here - i LOVE it. I don't know what i did before I have it and I install it on all my friends macs. It makes watching tv shows online 1000x times easier.


Doesn't it basically do the same thing as this? Although I'm not 100% sure if it stops the screen from dimming, but it's basically built-in.


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## Travellin007

kubes said:


> Doesn't it basically do the same thing as this? Although I'm not 100% sure if it stops the screen from dimming, but it's basically built-in.


With Caffeine, there is no worry about having to change settings, just click the icon on and off as needed, it's too easy.


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## kubes

Travellin007 said:


> With Caffeine, there is no worry about having to change settings, just click the icon on and off as needed, it's too easy.


Lol well that may be true, but it's a one-time setup with hot corners, and then you just have to move your mouse to the corner of the screen...not even a click involved 

Haha but I guess they both do the same thing.


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## CubaMark

Man, this thread should really be stickied.... 

Here's a freeware app that makes your Menu bar behave like the Dock (auto-hide)

Cynosure.X International: Software: MagicMenu

NOTE: just had a closer look at the "known issues" section... read carefully before installing. This may not be for everyone....


M


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## matriculated

Some of these have already been mention but these programs are really good. 

VirtualBox
Virtualbox is free virtualization software to run those stubborn Windows programs that don't have Mac ports. Although I still prefer VMWare, Virtualbox runs on one of my other Macs and I have a hard time really seeing the difference between the two.

Boxer: The DOS game emulator that?s fit for your Mac.
Since Bethesda released Daggerfall as freeware last week I've been using the way-to-easy-to-use Boxer to run it. It's weird running DOS programs on top of OSX. While Daggerfall needs some attention to install most games can simply be dragged and dropped to be ready to run. To say that this just a frontend to DOSBOX is a mistake. It automates everything so much so that you don't need to know anything about DOSBOX at all.

Metakine - Fairmount
Fairmount is a program that strips the protect off DVD video disks. The nice thing about it is that it runs in the background. You run Fairmount, insert a DVD, Fairplay remounts the DVD and then you can copy the VIDEO_TS files and do what ever you please with them. Easy! I use this in conjuction with DVDShrink (under Crossover/Darwine) to make DVD5 copies of my kids DVDs. A good alternative to the hard to find "donationware" Mac the Ripper.


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## AquaAngel

*Kewl P2p program*

Just found this later last night after doing some research on another program, but this is free and not sure if that has been posted before, but here it goes again
It is actually better than Limewire. i love it already
VUZE

Vuze: The most powerful bittorrent app in the world.

:clap:


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## Carter

For Free Mac Apps I gues I can push my site here  TwistedMac.com This is my personal site that I post up nothing but Free mac Apps & Mac related articles.


----------



## GratuitousApplesauce

Looks like this thread has been idle for some time:

SketchBox










A better version of "Stickies". I've always liked the idea of using Sticky notes and use lots of them in the real world, but have always found the Mac implementations that have remained the same since before OSX missing something, so that I've never used it for very long. 

I like this freeware version and started using it immediately after downloading.


----------



## WestWeb

Here is a site that offers a great little collection of free software downloads for Mac. I love using a few of their apps because they work together, these apps almost feel mac like in that sense:
- *Hour Guard* is the best time sheet and time recording app I have tried; it has accounts, tasks, and sub-tasks, and a fairly food reporting system.
- *Express Accounts* is a great little accounting app that actually works with Hour Guard(should work for many small business's I think)
- *Express Invoice* is an invoicing app that works together with Hour Guard, and Express Accounts to create some nice looking, detailed invoices
Some other apps by NCH are:
- Single line call recorder
- telephone on hold player
- Classic FTP

There are quite a few other apps they offer, as well. I think this collection of apps is a great free alternative for a home based, or small business, or if anyone has been paying money for this sort of software.


----------



## JerusalemJim

just got it- cool!!


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## csonni

I don't see how any of them are free. It says free software downloads at the top of their page, but the ones I clicked on has a "purchase online" link. Free to download but free to use?


----------



## rgray

*xPad. The Ultimate Notepad.*

xPad. The Ultimate Notepad. What it says...


----------



## WestWeb

Well if you read past the title at the top of the page, you will see that it is free software, free to use, and if you like, you can pay them and they will add a feature or two to the software you chose.


----------



## gordguide

Forgive me if someone's posted this before.

This app is designed for those of you who do podcasts, radio shows, telephone interviews, recordings of public meetings, or meetings in general. It's open-source freeware, built by a genuine sound engineer, and has great sonics and safety in editing. For live speech recording, it allows the engineer to just watch maximum levels and leave the gain-riding, a challenge even for experienced radio engineers, to post-processing.

I wouldn't be beyond suggesting playing with it in a multitrack editor for vocal tracks, either. Whether it meets your requirements for sonics you will have to decide yourself, but at worst it's a baseline you can compare manual edits to.

It's available for OSX (universal binary), Linux and some other OS whose name escapes me now ... probably because, judging by the number of downloads, people who do audio work don't run that OS. Go figure.

It's called The Levelator. Normally you would spend time in an audio editor setting markers, perhaps applying compression, doing some RMS normalization, etc., and probably some manual editing. This app solves the gruntwork, because it does not assume it must use the entire track as it's baselines ... it expects one section of a track to differ from the other.

It's evident there is some audio processing going on, because the resulting track does sound a bit enhanced, beyond simple level matching, compared to the originals (which are saved for comparison and archiving).

However, few people would object to the added sweetness in their voice, and no one who actually has to broadcast or publish is going to be bothered by the nice, even, sub-clipping levels it produces. Far from it.


----------



## magnuscanadiana

Super simple app I thought I would share. it's called RipIt


----------



## chas_m

+1 for the Levelator.


----------



## ScanMan

While this thread is reanimated...

MAX has become my LAME encoder since iTunesLame went south for some reason, following my move to Snow Leo. Comes with a script for importing ITunes song info that works like a charm. 

Just turn off iTunes "sound check on playback" when encoding – then turn it back on when you're done. Other than that, it's a smooth operator. Nice interface with easy access to custom settings.

I sent them a few bucks. You don't have to, I suppose...

Max from sbooth.org


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## CubaMark

The ever-amazing Stellarium has been updated to version 0.10.4 - no astronomy buff should be without this great app!


----------



## Ottawaman

gBrowser


----------



## DDKD726

If you like Mail Appetizer and you can not use it because you're running SL try Herald it practically does the same thing.
http://erikhinterbichler.com/software/herald/



MacDoc said:


> I'll put another two thumbs up for Mail Appetizer - you can set it it such a way you can read the messages easily ( size of font and length of image etc ) I have it pop up in my second screen for 10 seconds with large font and all the message - saves a lot of clicking about even with dedicated mouse button for mail seeing the incoming mail pop up is just terrific. :clap:
> 
> I guess my only wish list for it would be a Reply button on the popup bringing mail and a reply window to the front and active.
> 
> ••••••
> 
> I'll put in another plug for Milky Way which I'm finding more and more useful. It never intrudes but suddenly pops up a bigger image at the right time.
> 
> Photo Utilities. - ehMac.ca


----------



## cutra

Does anyone know of an app that lets you make your cursor/mouse pointer larger without distortion?


----------



## antic

I've used Evernote for a couple of years now Remember Everything | Evernote Corporation and it does a number of things like saving webpages but it also is good for jotting notes and it all gets saved to the cloud which is handy if you're' working on multiple machines. Their slogan is 'Remember Everything'


----------



## DynamicOverride

If these have already been mentioned, my apologies. These are a few of the programs I don't think I could do without.
CoRD - Allows you to remote into a Windows machine with a Mac. I find the look and feel of the program is like Virtual Box.
Team Viewer - This one is also to remote into other machines. It's cross platform (Mac, Windows and Linux) and works either through a client program or you can log in online to remote in.
Name Mangler - Amazing bulk re-namer. It has lots of options and works pretty quickly.


----------



## GratuitousApplesauce

Mac Freeware All-Stars: Our 10 Best in Category Picks | Mac.AppStorm

There's a couple mentioned that I'll check out.


----------



## CubaMark

It's been mentioned before, but FYI, the free BURN has been updated, with a bunch of bug fixes that may have kept you from using it previously...



> *WHAT'S NEW*
> 
> _Version 2.5:_
> 
> 
> Fixes a problem with authoring DVD-Video discs.
> Added support for a joliet long filename hack (103 characters). (thanks to mkisofs).
> Fixed a problem with 'Apple Intermediate Codec' video files.
> Fixed some aspect ratio problems.
> Creates an .isoInfo file to make Audio-CD iso files reproducible in Burn.
> Fixes copying Audio-CD discs (would crash).
> Fixed French spelling error (thanks to: Alexandre Leroux).
> Fixed problem with mono audio files (fixes the chipmunk problem .
> Fixed NTSC VCD size (used for calculating bars).
> Fixed DV conversion to NTSC DVD or SVCD.
> Updated convertion engine, new ffmpeg binaries (thanks to the FFmpeg developers).
> Fixed some sync issues with mp4, m4v and mov files.
> Ac3 sound of avi files is used when converting to DVD mpg.
> Added support for QuickTime chapters.
> Fixes mount / eject setting (after burning) (Thanks to: Brian D. Wells.).
> Other bug fixes.


----------



## MacDoc

Sweet Home......you'll love it.

A sophisticated CAD/3D program for everyone.

go on - have some fun

Sweet Home 3D

yes you can


----------



## sashmo

I just downloaded Google Sketchup and I love it. It's a small learning curve with great potential for a free program.


----------

