Apps Apps Apps !

Application Launchers


Pre-Installed Apple Software
Freeware
  • Butler allows you to assign tasks to different triggers.
  • QuickSilver is a powerful adaptive search and command application.
Shareware
  • Drag Thing is a cutomisable dock application.
  • Launch Studio shows a 'launch pad' displaying all of your applications for quick access. (Stacks in Leopard probably offer similar function.)
  • Launch Bar accesses bookmarks, applications, documents, contacts, iTunes, search engines and others by just entering abbreviations of a searched item's name.



Blogging


Pre-Installed Software (on new Macs)
Freeware
  • . xCHM is a .chm viewer for UNIX (Linux, *BSD, Solaris). Success stories of xCHM on Mac OS X have also been received, and apparently xCHM even works if compiled under the Cygwin environment in Windows.
Shareware
  • Ecto you can write and manage entries for your weblog(s). You can compose entries offline and use the extra features ecto offers, such as spellcheck, creating links, attachments, and much more.
  • MacJournal
  • MarsEdit



Communication


Conferencing
Note: conferencing applications are free, however you may need to buy credits to do send SMSs or ring a telephone.
Instant Messaging (IM) – Pre-installed Apple Software
Instant Messaging (IM) – Freeware
IRC – Freeware
Twitter – Freeware
Twitter – Shareware
  • Twitterific is an application to communicate with Twitter.
  • Tweetie – New! (ad-supported version available as well).
 
VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)

VOIP applications are free, but you might need to buy credits to send SMSs or communicate to a phone.



Data Recovery


For when your hard disk dies, make sure you backup (see below) as well.

Application – Pre-installed Apple Software
Applications – Freeware
Applications – Shareware
 
 
Data recovery companies

These are taken from user posts in the forums, and aren't endorsed or recommended by WP.



eBay


Freeware
Shareware



Email Clients


Pre-installed Apple Software
Freeware
Shareware
  • Mail Plane, Google Mail add-on.
  • O2M. Office 2 Mac transfers your Outlook email to Apple's Mail app.



Finder enhancements


Freeware
  • Find Any File is a free program that searches the file system rather than using Finder's database.
  • Path Finder is a powerful file manager with many built-in utilities and tools. Built using 100% Cocoa and Objective-C, Path Finder leverages the built-in power of Mac OS X to give you fast, powerful access to your files and applications.
Shareware
  • Deep is an image search program that uses tags and multiple sources of information to find similar images.
  • Leap lets you tag files for easy indexing and searching.



Font management


Pre-installed Apple Software
Freeware
Shareware



FTP


Freeware
Shareware



GUI enhancements and add-ons


Freeware
  • DockSpaces allows you to have multiple docks (can be used in conjunction with spaces).
  • Growl is a discrete notifier program that flashes a translucent window pane above your desktop to notify of specified events.
  • SpaceSuit allows you to have different desktop wallpapers for each Space/desktop.
Shareware
  • CandyBar, customise and organise icons. Pixadex used to be a separate program, but is now part of CandyBar.



Graphics / Image editors


Pre-installed (on new Macs)
Freeware
Shareware



iPhoto add-ons


Freeware
  • iPhoto Library Manager. Manage multiple iPhoto libraries.
  • Picasa for Mac, Google's new application for its online photo storage.
  • Picture Sync allows you to sync photos with iPhoto and online image stores sites like Flickr, ImageShack and Photobucket. (not required as of iPhoto 2009)
Shareware
  • iPhoto Library Manager. Manage multiple iPhoto libraries.
  • Picture Sync allows you to sync photos with iPhoto and online image stores sites like Flickr, ImageShack and Photobucket. (not required as of iPhoto 2009)



iTunes enhancements and applications


Freeware
  • Amazon Album Art Widget locates and adds artwork to your iTunes tracks from the Amazon database.
  • Fluid Tunes allows you to control iTunes with your hand by using the power of iSight.
  • iTuneMyWalkman is an open source application that will help you synchronize the contents of iTunes playlists to your mobile phone or other portable device. Helpful if you have a Sony Ericsson Walkman-featured mobile phone.
  • SyncTunes is a really good iTunes sync program for Sony Ericsson Walkman 'phones. Sadly, the developer withdrew it. If anyone can find a legitimate mirror, please link to it.
Shareware
  • FixTunes is an easy and powerful program that will fix any missing or misspelled song details, add album artwork, remove duplicates songs and organize your music
  • Slingshot syncs iTunes libraries across multiple Macs
  • SuperSync allows you to keep multiple iTunes libraries in sync.
  • TuneRanger is another iTunes sync tool for libraries on more than one computer, and works across platforms



Menubar add-ons


iTunes – Freeware
  • Bowtie
  • GimmeSome Tune fetches artwork and lyrics for iTunes, and displays a floating bezel window when new tracks start.
  • iController provides menu-bar control for iTunes, with menu-bar ticker.
  • you control: tunes is another menu-bar controller, with a fair bit of customisation and the ability to deal with song ratings in the menu-bar controller.
  • iTunes Menu is another menu-bar controller for iTunes with Growl notification
iTunes – Shareware
Meters – Freeware



Media streaming or playback


Freeware
  • PS3 Media Server
  • XBMC, or Xbox Media Center. Originally made to work on the first generation Xbox, now works on multiple platforms.
Shareware
  • AirFoil sends any audio to AirPort Express units, Apple TVs, and even other Macs and PCs, all in sync!
  • Connect360. Stream audio and video from your Mac to your Xbox360
  • Rivet, another Xbox360 audio and video streamer
  • EyeConnect media streamer for Macs
  • MediaLink. Stream audio and video from your Mac to your PS3. Made by the same people who produce Connect360.
  • TwonkyMedia, a Mac-compatible media streamer
  • Xhub is an alternative to Apple's Front Row



Mobile phones


Freeware
  • emitSMS is a bluetooth SMS widget
  • Feisar provides iSync and Address Book plug-ins for Sony Ericsson mobile phones that aren't supported by Apple
Shareware
  • BluePhoneElite is a bluetooth controller for mobiles phones, allowing you to control your phone from your Mac; send and receive SMS; and make and receive calls.
  • FoneLink provides iSync and Address Book support for Nokia mobile phones not supported by Apple.
  • Missing Sync is a Smart Phone plug-in providing SMS and Address Book support.



Mouse tools


Freeware
  • Knock Knock is a freeware program for changing acceleration curve of the mouse you use with OS X.
Shareware
  • CocaSuite is a suite of utilities for controlling Cocoa applications. It allows you to add new or reassign existing menu shortcuts; execute any menu command through customizable Mnemonics; execute any menu command via customizable mouse gestures; and use the track pad on your laptop as virtual scroll wheel or jog dial.
  • Controller Mate allows changes to mouse axes and acceleration curves
  • Side Track allows you to setup a trackpad to work as multi-button scrolling mouse. (It is not compatible with MacBook Air and 2008 MacBook Pro.)
  • SteerMouse allows customization of mice, including tracking speed and sensitivity. It's designed primarily for the Apple Mighty Mouse, but works with other mice.
  • USB Overdrive allows customization of most mice either globally or for specific apps.



Multimedia players + plug-ins


Pre-installed Apple Software
Freeware
  • CocoModX – freeware audio module player, capable of playing .mod, .xm, .it, .s3m et al.
  • MPlayer OSX. MPlayerOSX is binary distribution of MPlayer (The Movie Player for Linux) and comes with native GUI in MacOSX. After installation you can simply (by Drag&Drop) play almost all 3ivx, DivX 3,4,5 and other codecs files in the window or fullscreen mode.
  • Perian is a free, open source QuickTime component that adds native support for many popular video formats.
  • RealPlayer for Mac. Watch near DVD-quality video, view video clips in full-screen theater mode, optimize your sound with our graphic equalizer, behaves just like your other Mac applications and plays QuickTime files.
  • Tunatic is a music tagging program that identifies unknown tracks.
  • VLC media player is a flexible media player that can handle a lot of formats not supported by other Mac software.
  • Windows Media Player for Mac is essential if you want to be able to view many videos available on the internet. (very old – 2003, version 9)
Shareware
  • Flip4Mac provides codecs for QuickTime-based applications to play Windows Media Video & Audio (WMV) files
  • MacVCD. Discover the easy way to play VCD, SVCD* and almost everything else with this easy to use video media player software for Mac OS X. Play VCD, SVCD*, AVI*, DivX*, MPEG, video, Quicktime movies and more with MacVCD X.



Multimedia backup and writing


Pre-installed Apple Software (on new Macs)
Freeware
  • Burn is an open-source disc burning application, and for straight-forward backups is a good alternative to the more expensive commercial apps
  • ffmpegx is another Mac mainstay for video conversion, but the GUI is not as intuitive as other apps
  • HandBrake is a fantastic, cross-platform conversion tool. Quick pre-sets to convert media files to Apple TV, iPod, QuickTime, game consoles.
Shareware
  • Disco is a disc-burning program.
  • Drive-in, allows back-ups of DVDs in their original structure, and creates a cover-flow view of them
  • DVD Ripper for Mac — name says it all
  • DVD2one, compress or re-author DVDs. Allows extraction of title only, or to fit a title from a dual-layer disc onto a single-layer disc
  • Popcorn is a well-regarded DVD backup and converter
  • Ripit App – rips DVDs to your Mac.
  • Roxio Crunch is another video converter
  • Toast is the Rolls Royce of Mac DVD burners (with price tag to match)



Multimedia presentation


Create DVD and CD disk artwork on your Mac.
Pre-installed Apple Software (on new Macs)
Freeware
  • Covers prints your DVD art just so.
Shareware



Music – Shareware


  • iVolume adjusts the volume on your tracks in iTunes so they all play at the same perceived volume.
  • Tangerine creates playlists based on music tempo. Great for chillouts or workouts.



Navigation


Add GPS-like/Mapping functionality to your Mac.

Freeware
Shareware
  • Mac GPS Pro, navigation software that integreates a GPS with your Mac.



Networking


Freeware
  • AP Grapher is a program for Mac OS X which searches for and displays nearby wireless (AirPort/WiFi) access points along with information about their percent availability, maximum signal strength, and last contact time.
  • iStumbler is the leading wireless discovery tool for Mac OS X, providing plugins for finding AirPort networks, Bluetooth devices and Bonjour services with your Mac.
  • Kismac Welcome to the KisMAC wiki! KisMAC is an open-source and free stumbler/scanner application for Mac OS X. It has an advantage over MacStumbler / iStumbler / NetStumbler in that it uses monitor mode and passive scanning. Kismac is for professional users who know what they are doing. Novices beware — you can stuff things with this software. Take this as your warning!
  • MarcoPolo brings context-aware computing to your portable Mac computer. It allows your computer to determine its context through gathering evidence from your environment (evidence sources), using flexible rule-based fuzzy matching to make an educated guess (rules), and then performing arbitrary actions upon changing context (actions).
Shareware
  • Little Snitch informs you whenever a program attempts to establish an outgoing Internet connection. You can then choose to allow or deny this connection, or define a rule how to handle similar, future connection attempts. This reliably prevents private data from being sent out without your knowledge.
  • Network Location allows you to set your laptop to change network connections and applications based on the environment you are in.
  • Timbuktu remote desktop app.



Organizing software


Note: taking software, stickies programs and scheduling programs as well as project management software.
Pre-installed Apple Software
Freeware
  • iProcrastinate, homework or task manager.
  • Journaler is a notebook, and entry-based information manager. (Free for personal use)
  • Plot is a scientific 2D plotting program.
  • Schoolhouse. Aimed at students. Sort and organize your assignments, exams, and projects.
  • Skim is a reader and note-taker. It lets you read and annotate PDFs.
  • TimeEdition allolws you to keep track of time spent on projects.
  • Tinderbox, another information organiser.
Shareware
  • Awaken – Alarm Clock software
  • Base Camp
  • Devon Think, information management software.
  • Flying Logic, logic trees and tree-diagrams.
  • FastTrack Schedule
  • Ghost Action
  • Journaler is a notebook, and entry-based information manager. (Shareware for commercial use)
  • Merlin
  • Note Book With NoteBook, you organize your information naturally, using a familiar notebook interface, complete with pages and tabs, sections and subsections. Add notes and other text. Drag in files and folders. Even "clip" web research, mail messages and other content into your Notebooks without leaving the application you're working in.
  • Nova Mind, mind mapping software.
  • Omni Outliner can create hierarchies of main headings and subpoints that can be expanded and collapsed, which are immensely useful when it comes to brainstorming new ideas, drilling out specifics, and lining up steps needed to get everything done. But you aren't limited to outlines – you've got multiple columns, smart checkboxes, customizable popup lists, and an über-innovative styles system at your disposal.
  • Omni Plan
  • Papers retrieves, stores and allows searching of scientific PDF articles.
  • ProjectX 1.5
  • ProWorkFlow
  • Things, GTD task manager.
  • VoodooPad is a place to write down your notes and thoughts. Plant ideas, images, lists and anything else you need to keep track of and VoodooPad will grow with you, without getting in the way. You can even drag and drop folders, images, applications, or URLs into VoodooPad — they're linked up just like on the web.
  • Yep, sorts, collates and indexes PDFs, a bit like iPhoto for PDF.
  • YoJimbo, information organiser.



Print drivers – Freeware


Print drivers for Mac can be difficult to find for printers that aren't major sellers.
  • GIMP print (formerly Guten print)has open-source printer drivers, focusing on inkjets. It's particularly useful for older printers or if you have a printer that is not well supported by Apple.



Productivity and development


Office applications (Documents, Spreadsheets, Presentations, etc) as well as screen capture programs.
Pre-installed Apple Software
  • Grab is a screen capture program.
Freeware
  • Neo Office is a full-featured set of office applications based on OpenOffice, integrates dozens of native Mac features and can import, edit, and exchange files with other popular office programs such as Microsoft Office.
  • Open Office. OpenOffice is a multi-platform office productivity suite. It includes a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation manager, and drawing program, with a user interface and feature set similar to other office suites. It works transparently with a variety of file formats, including Microsoft Office.
  • Paparazzi – Takes a full-length screen capture of a web page.
  • Skitch is an advanced screen capture and basic image editor.
  • Side Note is a notepad that hides on the side of the screen until called out, a bit like an electronic Post-it Note.
Shareware
  • iShowU, screencast creator
  • iWork. Apple's office suite of Pages (word processor), Keynote (presentation software), and Numbers (spreadsheet).
  • Office for Mac from Microsoft, is the Mac version of the ubiquitous MS Office, compatible with the PC version and similar workflow
  • Salling Clicker, remote-control presentations and iTunes from your bluetooth-enabled mobile phone.
  • Screen Flow, screencast creator (used by ScreenCastsOnline)
  • Screen Steps creates screen capture videos
  • Temporis, timeline software.
  • Timeline is 3D timeline software that allows exporting to QuickTime.



Security (and Anti-Virus)


While debates continue about Anti-Virus on Macs, a Mac can pass viruses on to a Windows computer on the same network very easily.
Freeware
  • ClamXav is a free virus scanner based on the ClamAV project for Windows.
  • iAntiVirus Free version for Mac.
Shareware
  • 1password is a secure password storage app, with browser auto-fill. It works with all major browsers, and also allows you to sync passwords across different computers and with your iPod Touch or iPhone.
  • Virus Barrier – Virus protection for Mac OSX.
  • Wallet is a secure password storage application, with browser auto-fill.



Screensavers – Freeware





Synchronising and Backup


Pre-Installed Apple Software
Freeware
Shareware



System tools


System tools help with maintenance, updates and system-wide changes to your Mac.
Pre-installed Apple Software
Freeware
  • fKeys is a keyboard re-mapper.
  • Main Menu. Don't have time to run all the various tools and scripts to keep your Mac running smoothly? MainMenu makes these tasks quick and easy, right from your menu bar.
  • Onyx is a multifunction utility that allows you to verify the Startup Disk and the structure of its System files; run miscellaneous system maintenance and cleaning; rebuild miscellaneous indexes and databases, force empty trash (normal or securely mode), quickly find items with the locate command, display the Unix manual pages and configure lots of hidden parameters to personalize your Desktop.
  • TinkerTool gives you access to additional preference settings Apple has built into Mac OS X, so you can activate hidden features in the operating system and in some of the applications delivered with the system.
  • Trimmit – Removes excess files from applications (eg. PowerPC binaries, extra languages).
  • uControl is a keyboard re-mapper.



Text (and CSS) Editors


Pre-installed Apple Software
Freeware
Shareware
  • Bare Bones Edit is the leading professional HTML and text editor for the Macintosh. Specifically crafted in response to the needs of Web authors and software developers.
  • CSSedit. Quite simply put, CSSEdit will save your sanity when editing style sheets. Its intuitive approach to style sheets and powerful editing features will make you deliver beautiful standards-based sites in no time!
  • skEdit is a text editor for Mac OS X (10.3 or later), with a focus on web design and development.
  • SubEthaEdit. SubEthaEdit is a powerful and lean text editor. And it's the only collaborative one you can actually use. By combining the ease of Bonjour with the world's best text collaboration engine, it makes working together not only possible but even fun.
  • Text Mate



Torrent Clients


Freeware
  • Acquisition.
  • BitTorrent
  • Cabos, a Gnutella file sharing program based on LimeWire and Acquisition.
  • Poisoned lays claim to being fast and integrated with iTunes.
  • Transmission is a reasonably good Torrent application, although one recent version caused large excess downloads. Visually very similar to the uTorrent interface, it offers more features and the ability to select individual files in a torrent.
  • Tomato Torrent is a straight forward and easy to use client for the Mac platform.
  • uTorrent for Mac is still in Beta, and not as feature-rich as it's older PC cousin, but for raw speed in a torrent application, it's hard to pass up.
  • Vuze, formerly called Azureus, is a Mac torrent application that offers a lot of extra features aimed at creating a multimedia experience
  • Xtorrent
Shareware



Un-installers


Un-installing an application can become difficult because most applications don't come with uninstallers. These programs help you therefore uninstall those Applications from your Mac.
Freeware
  • AppCleaner
  • AppTrap Probably the best of the lot, because it sits in your System Preferences and uninstalls anything you Trash. The others all work much the same way, but to work they need to be open and sitting in your Dock.
Shareware



Usage meters (by ISP)


Bigpond
Extel
Internode
Mixed



Usenet – Shareware


Usenet is world-wide distributed discussion system consisting of "newsgroups.



Virtual Machine (VM) Software


VM Software allows you to run Windows, Linux, BSD or any other operating system on your Mac.

Note: A copy of the operating system (and, if applicable, a license key for it) you intend to run is required for each piece of software below, except DarWine and CrossOvers.
Pre-installed Apple Software
Freeware
  • DarWine – Mac OS X port of Wine
  • VirtualBox – Open-source VM Player by Sun Micro-systems
Shareware
  • Cross Overs – Official port of Wine for Mac OSX.
  • Parallels Desktop for Mac – Competes with VMWare Fusion as the full on VM Player. It can also read a Boot Camp partition (VMWare Fusion can as well).
  • VMWare Fusion – Made by the King of Virtualization, it competes with Parallels Desktop for Mac.



Web browsers


Pre-installed Apple Software
  • Safari – Apple's native browser, integrates with other Apple and Cocoa applications
Freeware
Shareware


Web browser plug-ins
Plug-ins add extra functionality to your web browser.


Web Development Tools
Useful applications in the web development industry that aren't FTP clients,, text editors or all-in-one packages).
Freeware
  • MAMP contains Apache (web server), MySQL (database) and PHP (language module).
  • Paparazzi – Takes a full-length screen capture of a web page.
  • XAMPP is the same as MAMP.
Shareware



Website Development Packages


All in one (FTP, editors, auto-preview, etc) packages built for web development
Pre-installed Apple Software (on new Macs)
Freeware
Shareware



Widgets – Freeware


Widgets go on your Mac OSX Dashboard and provide useful information or tools.