Mac Tips & Tricks: Software Edition
December 29, 2008 at 08:12:15 PM, by David Fried
Get ready to start downloading and make your Apple computer - even greater. These are the top five applications on the market that every Mac user should have in their possession.
Mac Tips and Tricks: Software Edition
If you are a Mac owner, first off I would like to say congratulations as you have entered the world of logical computing. However, without these programs, it is as though you are only using half of your Mac’s vast capabilities. So, get ready to start downloading and make your great computer even better. These are the top five applications on the market that every Mac user should have in their possession.
Web Browsing:
Mozilla Firefox
This should be a given, but just in case you are still using Safari and haven’t been convinced to make the switch just yet. Well, it’s about time to make that leap of faith and download the greatest open-source browser to grace the World Wide Web, and the best part is its free. Safari may be nice, but with the bevy of available extensions and plug-ins, you may as well consider yourself on the same level of a PC user, if you don’t have the world’s premier browser at your fingertips. Additionally, even if you don’t use Mozilla as your default browser, it always nice to just have around to open those sites that aren’t Safari supported.
Video Ripping:
RipIt 1.1.4
RipIt is a great Mac program based on the same basic principles of every Apple product. RipIt is fast, simple and has an easy to use interface that just makes sense. Watching a DVD on your laptop can get annoying pretty quickly, with the whirring sound of the DVD spinning in the disk drive and worst of all the battery depleting at an alarming rate. So, why not rip the DVD right to your Mac and kill a couple of birds with one program. RipIt’s interface could not be any easier, it has very few options, which ensures your rip comes out right every time. The only downside is that it’s not freeware. Programs like MacTheRipper http://mactheripper.org/ or HandBrake http://handbrake.fr/ may be free, but if you don’t mind spending a little green for a simple to use program that works beautifully then RipIt is the way to go.
Peer-to-Peer Filesharing: Bittorent Client
Transmission
If you do any P2P downloading then you should be using the best program out there and that is Transmission. This torrent downloader will make you one very happy Mac user, keeping up with the Apple theme this program is a great balance of power and is incredibly simple to use. Best of all, Transmission is completely free with no annoying ads be found anywhere either. It has all the features you would expect from a P2P client: tracker editing , UPnP and NAT-PMP forwarding, seeding support, a visual display of torrent speed limits and much, much more. If you do any P2P downloading Transmission is without a doubt the way to go.
iPod ripping
Senuti
If you want get the music of your ‘pod to your Mac, the only way to go is Senuti. Unlike other programs that promise to copy the music on your iPod, Senuti has very few advanced options and simply “just works”. So if you have had are looking to download your songs onto your computer without having to use a program that has a daunting number of options leaving you with a gut wrenching fear that one click of the mouse will send your beloved songs into oblivion (or is that just me?). Well then look no further than Senuti, as it can quell your fears of ever losing your music and allow you to throw on some Radiohead in a matter of minutes.
Drawing/Graphing
OmniGraffle
As you may have noticed if you were once a PC user, Mac offers no alternative for paint, which may leave you a bit disappointed and scratching your head as to how Jobs and Wozniak could have forgotten this very useful feature. No need to fear as OmniGraffle is here in all of its pain’esque alternative glory. Not only is OmniGraffle a satisfactory alternative to paint, but it’s like paint on steroids multiplied by a thousand. The interface may be confusing at first, however the bevy of options undoubtedly make it worthy of ten minutes or so of your time to figure out all of the more advanced uses. OmniGraffle is an essential piece of software, which allows you to convey your thoughts in an extremely visually appealing manner for a justifiable price.
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Comments
woowha at 00:09, February 17, 2009
iMedia Converter is better than ripit. http://www.moviesmac.com/imedia-converter-mac/#121
Andrew at 07:22, January 09, 2009
Thanks for the great tips!