Killer Apps for Mac - Ogg Drop

Most of us don’t care very much one way or the other which audio format we use. The two most common forms— mp3 and AAC both proprietary codecs which means that any application that wants to use them have to pay the owners of the license. Ogg Vorbis is a non-proprietary, open source codec developed by the Xiph.org foundation. There are a number of advantages to the .ogg format, most notably a variable bit rate which means that you can fit more complexity into the same size file.

It used to be that iTunes users couldn’t play .ogg vorbis files, but that’s no longer true. There’s a Quicktime plugin to allow for playback and Ogg Drop for encoding audio CDs. Unlike most encoders, Ogg Drop also accesses CDDB so song data is automatically retrieved from the internet, saving you the pain in the ass of typing it all in yourself.

Previously featured Killer Apps for Mac.

posted by Alex Herder on 18 December 2007
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Killer Apps for Mac - iStumbler

For much more information about wireless, bluetooth, or Bonjour services on your network, this tool is essential. Running in the background, iStumbler shows all available networks, true signal strength, and MAC addresses for all networked devices.

Learn more and download iStumbler here.

Previously featured Killer Apps for Mac.

posted by Alex Herder on 15 August 2007
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Apple starts recycling program

We previously covered Apple’s last place environmental record, and then the subsequent green statement from Steve Jobs, but it seems there is more. Apple announced last week that they were to start a school computer recycling program. Any school (k-12, University, College, etc…) with more than 25 computers to recycle, Macs or PCs, could sign up. After scheduling a pick-up, the rest of the work would be done by Apple who are, it seems, asking for nothing in return. There’s more about this story at The Apple Insider.

Via The Inquirer

posted by Alex Herder on 21 May 2007
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Killer Apps for Mac - img2icns

This is more of a specialty program than ones we’ve profiled in the past, but it has been a great help to me lately so I thought it worth sharing. Nerd declaration: I am a personalization fiend. Everything I can change or modify on my Mac, I do. The first line of customization on the Apple is of course the dock icons, which can sometimes prove frustrating. That’s where img2icns comes in.

Img2icns was made by Shiny Frog, an Italian software design firm. The official English site for the app is here. Normally with most icons, you can just copy and paste previously made icons (instructions and examples here), but sometimes I’ve wanted to make my own using photoshop or fireworks. Img2icns is a very simple application that converts any kind of picture file to Apple’s proprietary .icns file type, and therefore make that image able to be used as a dock icon.

Previously featured Killer Apps for Mac.

posted by Alex Herder on 19 May 2007
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A Greener Apple

This is a slightly older story, but I felt I needed to update everyone on Apple’s reaction to the perception that they are the least green computer company. A few weeks ago, Steve Jobs published a position paper laying out Apple’s environmental measures and aspirations. It turns out that, at least according to the very biased CEO Steve Jobs, Apple is not the 5th horseman of the ecological apocalypse. Jobs asserts that Apple is actually leading the way in terms of reducing heavy metals use in computer manufacturing. Apple’s recycling program is also supposedly world class, and the only one to use only US-based facilities for the job.

Is any of this true? I don’t know, but it seems like there’s a lot more research to be done to reconcile Jobs’ vision of his company with Greenpeace’s.

posted by Alex Herder on 16 May 2007
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Killer Apps for Mac - UnRarX

This application has pretty much one purpose as far as I can tell, it decompresses .rar files REALLY WELL. Most people may not find they have much trouble with decompression but I’ve found that UnRarX works much better than the leading utility, StuffIt. Just like most of the Killer Apps for Mac, this is free so there’s no harm in heading over to the UnRarX website, downloading it and trying it. It’s helped me out of quite a few jams.

Previously featured on Killer Apps for Mac: Adium, Sidenote, Darwiin Remote, Mac Pilot, Disk Inventory X, Tangerine, SizzlingKeys, Vienna Reader, VLC Player, App Zapper, and TV Shows.

posted by Alex Herder on 8 May 2007
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Killer Apps for Mac - TV Shows

A TV pirate’s life can be tough. Waiting for shows to get ripped, scrubbed and posted, bad torrent files and constantly coming sites like Pirate Bay and isoHunt. Well, all those worries are a thing of the past, and you have TV Shows to thank for it. Not that I’m condoning illegal downloading, but if you were so inclined this is how it works. This wonderful application runs in the background, constantly checking for the latest and greatest torrent files of your favorite TV shows that you can then open with your torrent client. Seriously, “click on subscribe, they do the rest,” it’s amazing. Visit the TV Shows homepage on sourceforge for news, reviews, and downloads.

Previously featured Killer Apps for Mac include: Adium, Sidenote, Darwiin Remote, Mac Pilot, Disk Inventory X, Tangerine, SizzlingKeys, Vienna Reader, VLC Player, and App Zapper.

posted by Alex Herder on 6 May 2007
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Killer Apps for Mac - App Zapper

Some of the beautiful simplicity behind the mac can be a little frustrating, especially when uninstalling applications. System files and folders are often squirreled away in hard to find libraries, taking up precious disk space long after the application in question was deleted. Enter App Zapper. This handy application seeks out all the support files, preferences, and caches of applications as you delete them. Think of it like John Kruger from Eraser, only for mac os x applications.

Previous Killer Apps for Mac include: Adium, Sidenote, Darwiin Remote, Mac Pilot, Disk Inventory X, Tangerine, SizzlingKeys, Vienna Reader, and VLC Player.

posted by Alex Herder on 4 May 2007
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Get all of Wikipedia on your iPod

Wikipedia is amazing and iPods are convenient. Putting Wikipedia on your iPod will make you the ultimate dinner companion/neighborhood smarty-pants. The whole of Wikipedia only take up 750 mb of disk space which is far smaller than any flavor of iPod. I myself don’t have an iPod so didn’t try this, but iPodders from every operating system will love the functionality of Wikipodia, an an application that puts all the world’s knowledge in the palm of your hand.

Previously on duenos: – What Wikipedians Search For, charts and statistics on Wikipedia use.

posted by Alex Herder on 4 May 2007
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Killer Apps for Mac - VLC

Macs are great at doing what they’re supposed to do straight out of the box, but they can get a lot better with a little effort. VLC, the media player from VideoLAN.org is one of those programs that makes everything better. Give it any kind of file at all—avi, mp4, ogg, mp3, mov, literally anything at all—and VLC will play the hell out of it. Also the latest release of the mac version integrates beautifully with the OS, making it far sexier than the bundled Quicktime or any other option. If you watch any video at all on your mac, you need to get VLC. Download it here.

Previous Killer Apps for Mac: Adium, Sidenote, Darwiin Remote, Mac Pilot, Disk Inventory X, Tangerine, SizzlingKeys, and Vienna Reader.

posted by Alex Herder on 2 May 2007
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Killer Apps for Mac - Vienna Reader

The problem with all the different software out there is that you can never get exactly what you want. For example, it took me a lot longer than it should have to switch from Safari to Firefox because I read a lot of news-feeds on a daily basis, and Safari’s integrated reader kicks butt. Packed full of features, Vienna Reader is a freeware feed reader that replaces and multiplies the functionality of any other RSS program, including Safari. It has a great Mail-like interface that is intuitive and just simple enough to use without being ungainly. It’s also very customizable, although I ended up going back to the default settings a few days into using the program, and the built-in browser is nice for when you don’t really want to open up Firefox to look at a link. If you get any of your news from RSS or ATOM feeds, you need to try Vienna Reader. If you don’t, you should start by downloading Vienna and subscribing to Duenos.net.

Previous Killer Apps for Mac: Adium, Sidenote, Darwiin Remote, Mac Pilot, Disk Inventory X, Tangerine, and SizzlingKeys.

posted by Alex Herder on 28 April 2007
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Killer Apps for Mac - Darwiin Remote

Gamers rejoice! If you are one of the lucky bunch who snagged a Nintendo Wii in recent months, Darwiin Remote is a neat, helpful program that utilizes your Mac’s Bluetooth technology to read the Wiimote’s signals and utilize them for good and awesome. For example, Darwiin Remote can map the Wiimote’s buttons to your keyboard, making it easy to use the Wiimote as a wireless controller for emulating video games, a method for navigating a slideshow while standing at a podium, or a control for iTunes when sitting on the couch studying.

It is even possible to control your mouse pointer via Wiimote and the use of infrared sensors, force feedback, or motion sensors. Darwiin Remote can also utilize the Nunchuk and Classic Controller accessories, but support for these is shoddy at best. Download Darwiin Remote for free at SourceForge.

posted by Mike Pellegrino on 24 April 2007
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Killer Apps for Mac - Mac Pilot

Mac Pilot gives you amazing control of your Mac—literally hundreds of unadvertised options (many of which require deeper knowledge of Unix and the Terminal) become readily available to you.

Feel compelled to disable icons on the desktop? Want greater control over the placement and style of your Dock? Need greater control over who can access your computer with file sharing, what they can access, or how long they can be connected? This is just a sampling of the myriad freedoms that Mac Pilot grants you to customize your Mac. The interface is simple, and there are no complicated Unix commands to memorize.

I like having powerful, simple control over my Mac, and Mac Pilot certainly delivers. Learn more about it here.

posted by Mike Pellegrino on 17 April 2007
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Killer Apps for Mac - Disk Inventory X

If you ever wonder what your hard drive looks like, this is your chance to find out. Disk Inventory X analyzes your hard drive and creates an interactive graphical representation of all the information stored on it. I’ve used this program for a long time to figure out how to create more space on my iBook’s 80 gb hard drive, pictured below. It’s fun to see how your computer works, and with the great price (free) there’s no excuse to not try it out.

Not a Mac user? There are also free equivalents of this program for Windows and Linux.

posted by Alex Herder on 14 April 2007
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Killer Apps for Mac - Tangerine!

Do you like to work out but don’t have the time to generate a new “Exercise Mix” every time you go? Let Tangerine do it for you!

Tangerine analyzes each of the songs in your iTunes library and generates the Beats-Per-Minute (BPM) and Beat Intensity of each song. It then allows you to set a range for both BPM and intensity, and Tangerine will select a specified number of songs that match those criteria. Want a body-jolting mix? Set the BPM high and the intensity extremely high. Want a playlist you can sleep to? Make the BPM range span the lower end of the spectrum.

The interface is easy to use and mimics iTunes in its elegance. Visit Tangerine’s official site here for more info.

posted by Mike Pellegrino on 13 April 2007
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Killer Apps for Mac - Adium

This is not really much of a surprise, unlike Sidenote and SizzlingKeys, a lot of people use Adium. This popular iChat replacement is fully customizable instant messaging program that supports AIM, Bonjour, MSN, G-Talk, etc… In fact, I have no idea what most of those icons actually represent, but you can be assured that Adium does. I’ve been using Adium for years and love the way that it is integrated into OS X with so many visual styles and features. The only thing missing is video support.

To learn more about Adium, go their website or to their extras site. Also see other Killer Apps for Mac entries on Sidenote and SizzlingKeys.

posted by Alex Herder on 7 April 2007
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Apple TV launched, now hacked

The Apple TV product line has only just been launched and already it is being hacked to be, well, not Apple TV. Apple TV Hacks is a website serving the Apple TV hacking community and reading their archives, these people are fast. Already people have figured out how to use an external keyboard and mouse, create plugins for the GUI ‘backrow’ and even run a full version of OS X.

Thanks to The Inquirer for the lead on this story.

posted by Alex Herder on 6 April 2007
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Killer Apps for Mac - SizzlingKeys

Continuing in my series on applications that Mac OS X amazing, SizzlingKeys puts full iTunes controls at your fingertips regardless of what application you’re in. There are other programs that offer this ability, but I think SizzlingKeys is the best. With just a keystroke (that you can set yourself) you can pause, play, switch tracks, change the volume, mute, or even search your iTunes library. The best part of it all, like all of my “Killer Apps” choices, is that it’s free. Go to the SizzlingKeys website to download your copy and try it out.

Here is a picture of the floating status window in action on my desktop.

posted by Alex Herder on 4 April 2007
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Killer Apps for Mac - Sidenote

I started using Sidenote almost a week ago and it’s already become an integral part of my OS X life. I use it to store absolutely all of my working notes from job hunting to ideas for blog articles. Anytime I want to use it I just press Cmd-^-[ (my choice) and it slides out, I make my notes, and with the same key stroke it dissapears, automatically saving what I wrote.

From the Mac Downloads page: :

_”[Sidenote] Tries to catch the “Stickies” spirit but in the form of a multi-document drawer that will hide in the corner of your screen (left or right). You can use it to take all your daily notes, include images and easily modify text color and font.

Sidenote will automatically expand so that you will be able to drag into it any picture, text clipping or pdf file from the finder or your favorite application. With notes auto-saving, you’ll never have to save your notes. Sidenote will handle that for you. You can also print notes or export them to rtf.”_

Here’s a screenshot of Sidenote at work.

posted by Alex Herder on 2 April 2007
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