Mac Apps: The Essentials
15:18:00
With the Mac App Store expanding day by day, it is becoming increasingly hard to figure out which applications are actually needed. So here's a small list of apps that I use on a day to day basis.
Perian: This is a Quicktime player addon that enables to it play many video formats
MPlayerX: The most dependable and versatile media player out there. Plays everything, and anything.
DivX Player: Plays all your DivX files, and somehow manages to enhance the video quality.
Flip4Mac: If anyone sends you a .WMV file, this is what you use to open them.
iTunes: This is the best music player, bar none. It might be slightly sluggish, and cumbersome, but it does everything. Nothing can replace it.
Pixelmator: Does everything Photoshop does, and perhaps even more, but is insanely simple to use. Mind blowing.
Sketch: The easiest and one of the most powerful vector graphics applications out there. It's so simple and easy to use. Although it's not perfect, its simplicity makes up for the lack of a few features.
Adobe Creative Suit: Although I don't use it that often, it's often handy if I need to do some professional work and deal with some specific file types. It's not my favourite, but it is essential.
iMeme: One does not simply....not make memes. Great sharing and uploading options.
CleanMyMac: Perfect tool to keep your Mac running at speed. Does a full service, and gets rid of large files easily.
DaisyDisk: Well designed graphical interface that keeps track of your files on the hardrive. Another good tool to get rid of large and useless files that keep stockpiling.
FreeMemory: This is for the lesser Macs with barely any RAM. This tool clears the RAM cache. Useful if you want to starts a processor intensive application.
HandBrake: One the most powerful video converters, and a great tool to rip DVD's. It can also convert 30 fps files to a slightly higher 60 fps. It works very well on HD videos.
InsomniaX: This keeps your Mac awake and running even after closing the lid. Perfect for those overnight download marathons, and any other work that needs to run for a long time. There many other alternatives out there, but this is the best.
Keka: This can open any compressed file. Anything. One stop solution to open compressed files with exotic sounding extensions.
Password Assistant: This is actually an inbuilt function in the Mac OS that suggests passwords. Someone has converted it into a stand alone application. It helps you make passwords and gives great suggestions. It's also FIPS-181 compliant. Whatever that means.
iWork: This is the coolest and the easiest application to make documents, presentations, and other crap that people make nowadays. Anything made on iWork looks unbelievably cool and slick. It eats Microsoft Office for breakfast.
Microsoft Office: The only glitch with iWork is that the über awesome presentations and documents made on them do not open properly on Word, and Powerpoint. Annoying. So you have to use Microsoft Office to to cater to those who still use Windows.
iA Writer: This is the art of zen writing. In full screen mode, it's just the text. There is no toolbar with infinite options. It's just you, the keyboard and what you write. Nothing else.
Media
Perian: This is a Quicktime player addon that enables to it play many video formats
MPlayerX: The most dependable and versatile media player out there. Plays everything, and anything.
DivX Player: Plays all your DivX files, and somehow manages to enhance the video quality.
Flip4Mac: If anyone sends you a .WMV file, this is what you use to open them.
iTunes: This is the best music player, bar none. It might be slightly sluggish, and cumbersome, but it does everything. Nothing can replace it.
Graphics
Pixelmator: Does everything Photoshop does, and perhaps even more, but is insanely simple to use. Mind blowing.
Sketch: The easiest and one of the most powerful vector graphics applications out there. It's so simple and easy to use. Although it's not perfect, its simplicity makes up for the lack of a few features.
Adobe Creative Suit: Although I don't use it that often, it's often handy if I need to do some professional work and deal with some specific file types. It's not my favourite, but it is essential.
iMeme: One does not simply....not make memes. Great sharing and uploading options.
Utilities
CleanMyMac: Perfect tool to keep your Mac running at speed. Does a full service, and gets rid of large files easily.
DaisyDisk: Well designed graphical interface that keeps track of your files on the hardrive. Another good tool to get rid of large and useless files that keep stockpiling.
FreeMemory: This is for the lesser Macs with barely any RAM. This tool clears the RAM cache. Useful if you want to starts a processor intensive application.
HandBrake: One the most powerful video converters, and a great tool to rip DVD's. It can also convert 30 fps files to a slightly higher 60 fps. It works very well on HD videos.
InsomniaX: This keeps your Mac awake and running even after closing the lid. Perfect for those overnight download marathons, and any other work that needs to run for a long time. There many other alternatives out there, but this is the best.
Keka: This can open any compressed file. Anything. One stop solution to open compressed files with exotic sounding extensions.
Password Assistant: This is actually an inbuilt function in the Mac OS that suggests passwords. Someone has converted it into a stand alone application. It helps you make passwords and gives great suggestions. It's also FIPS-181 compliant. Whatever that means.
Work
iWork: This is the coolest and the easiest application to make documents, presentations, and other crap that people make nowadays. Anything made on iWork looks unbelievably cool and slick. It eats Microsoft Office for breakfast.
Microsoft Office: The only glitch with iWork is that the über awesome presentations and documents made on them do not open properly on Word, and Powerpoint. Annoying. So you have to use Microsoft Office to to cater to those who still use Windows.
iA Writer: This is the art of zen writing. In full screen mode, it's just the text. There is no toolbar with infinite options. It's just you, the keyboard and what you write. Nothing else.
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