ivan: scribbles: OS X Software Gallery

May 04, 2004

os x software gallery

Jacob Scott recently got a new 12" PowerBook. In an effort to spread the word about cool programs, here's my list of proggies:

Clutter: Show pretty album cover art pulled from Amazon. Freeware.
DesktopManager: I'm still very much a UNIX boy, and I want my virtual desktops, dammit! This kind of does the job, but I still don't get everything I want, especially that I have to settle for an older version (v0.3.4) since versions after that are only for Panther (boo!). GPL.
FireFox: Because Mozilla is too big/slow, Safari isn't tabbed, and IE is just taboo. Mozilla Public License.
GPGMail: Adds GPG right into Mail.app and makes it quick and easy to decrypt/encrypt mail. Open Source License.
iPhoto Buddy: This may be obsolete with iPhoto v4; I use this mainly because of the incredible slowness of iPhoto after my library started getting past 1,500 photos. I may get iLife just to get rid of this nag. Freeware.
iScrobbler: Connects you and your music to a network and database that'll suggest music similar to your tastes. Tracks your musical tastes on their website; including your currently playing song. GPL.
iTerm: Kick-ass terminal with tabs and transparency. GPL.
KisMAC: So I can find free WiFi hotspots. Occasionally causes badness with the Airport driver and makes me have to reboot to get the Airport working again, however. Built-in WEP cracking tools. I wish I had a GPS to take full advantage of the mapping tools. GPL.
MPlayer OS X: I chose this over VLC because VLC didn't seem to work very well the last time I used it (v0.6). It may be better now, so I'll check on it. MPlayer is very very very good, though; I used it in Linux, and was very happy to find a port for OS X. Also, it's been able to play pretty much everything I've thrown at it with the exception of some funky Windows Media files. GPL.
NetNewsWire Lite: RSS Aggregator/Reader; I like to read parts of an article before committing to downloading/reading the whole thing. Seeing the just the headline is not enough, and this lets me see feeds that have at least some body to them. Freeware.
Poisoned: My favorite P2P client. Freeware.
SideTrack: Extra functionality on the Trackpad, such as scrolling on the edges. Freeware.
TinkerTool: Mess around with more OS X settings. Freeware.
XDarwin: To run those non-native OS X applications, such as GIMP. XFree86 License.

Also, I'd recommend checking out Apple's Developer Tools if you're a coder; I've played around with it, and it really is easy (and fun!) to whip things up--moreover, it's free (as in beer)!

Suggestions are more than welcome!

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