Latest Update - May 29 2008, for Mac OS X 10.5 “Leopard”
This is my list of essential software for OS X - it’s what I install on new Macs and use every day.
- Apple’s Spotlight has replaced Quicksilver as my application launcher
- Apple’s Spaces has replaced Virtue Desktops as my virtual-desktop provider
- MenuMeters gives me menubar system status.
- WeatherDock for menubar weather status. (development of WeatherPop Advance has stagnated)
- NetNewsWire is my preferred RSS/RDF/Atom reader
- MarsEdit for weblog posting
- AppZapper for clean application uninstalls
- Adium is the best multi-service IM client for OSX
- Handbrake rips DVDs to MP4 or DivX video files
- FFView for reading comic book archives
- Disco and Burn-OSX for CD and DVD writing
- SuperCal to keep my monitor colors calibrated and sharp
- VueScan for my flatbed scanner
- VisualHub and ffmpegX for video conversion
- xACT and Max for audio file conversion
- Photoshop Elements for graphic work
- VideoLan Client (VLC) - plays any media format under the sun
- Quicktime MPEG-2 Playback Component - well worth the money.
- Xiph Quicktime Components - for playing back Ogg and FLAC formats.
- Flip4Mac WMV enables playback of Windows Media files
- Perian and A52Codec handle formats that the other plugins won’t.
- Transmission has replaced Azureus as my BitTorrent client.
- VoodooPad is a desktop wiki and notepad
- TextMate is nice, but I still prefer VI.
- iLife ‘08 for iPhoto and Garageband.
- MacTeX and the TeXShop front-end, for nice-looking document preparation
- TinkerTool, TinkerTool System, and Yasu let me tweak system settings and clear caches.
- Apple’s Time Machine has replaced SuperDuper as my backup utility.
- The Unarchiver is a good replacement for Stuffit Expander or the built-in Archive Helper, and I use UnRARX for RAR archives.
- iDefrag keeps my filesystems operating at maximum performance
- Apple’s built-in VNC client support has replaced Chicken of the VNC as my preferred VNC client
- Of course, I use iTunes for music.
- I use AppFresh to keep everything up-to-date.
- The Volume Logic plugin for iTunes has been discontinued, but Plantronics has released a workaround to make it function on 10.5.
- Ready Lisp is a prepacked combination of Aquamacs, SLIME, and Steel Bank Common Lisp.
- A list of my Firefox browser extensions is here
- I also use the GreaseMonkey extension and these GreaseMonkey scripts
Software that no longer works with 10.5 or has been discontinued:
When I’m doing Lisp development,
My web browser of choice is Firefox.
I don’t use the “Dashboard” facility in OS X (it’s a waste of CPU time and RAM), so I can’t recommend any widgets.