Recommendations can easily be subjective and local to one person or time. Please be specific about function and broad about timeframe so that your question, once answered objectively, is of use to the community.
169
votes
233answers
21k views
Which OS X Applications do you find indispensable?
Please Search Prior To Posting!
There are many applications already listed. In all likelihood, this includes the one you are thinking of. Please check the existing answers to avoid duplicates, and ...
62
votes
22answers
17k views
What Window Management Options exist for OS X?
I'd like to do something with my windows on OS X, where something includes options like re-arranging, moving, re-sizing, remembering positions, cloning across Spaces, etc. What options exist?
Rules
...
28
votes
27answers
2k views
What are some great iPad apps?
The iPad was first released in April 2010 and lots of apps already target it.
Which are the most awesome, must-have ones for you (excluding apps that come pre-installed)?
NB: For games, there's ...
25
votes
29answers
6k views
What OS X tweaks, hacks, or modifications couldn't you live without?
What OS X tweaks or customization applications do you find indispensable?
Please search before posting in order to avoid duplicate entries. You can search within this question with inquestion:this ...
25
votes
11answers
17k views
Is There A Free Photoshop Alternative for Mac OS X?
I've been doing quite a bit of searching, but I'm only turning up commercially licensed packages. I don't need something as fully-featured as Photoshop, but something in that genre is sufficient. ...
21
votes
7answers
6k views
What's a good graphical SFTP utility for OS X?
I need a small graphical utility, using which I can ssh to a server and see all the files and copy and paste (drag and drop) into my local machine.
I am running Snow Leopard.
21
votes
21answers
35k views
Can anyone recommend an app for creating flowcharts and diagrams?
I'm seeking a Mac app for creating basic flowcharts and similar diagrams.
Google has been no help; I've followed dozens of links to apps that either don't exist anymore, I can't find any real ...
21
votes
12answers
1k views
How can I free up some disk space?
I'm about to run out of disk space, and I know I have a lot of junk on my macbook but I don't know how to find it to figure out how to delete it.
Is there an easy command line way through terminal to ...
21
votes
0answers
24k views
What's a good Windows RDP client for Mac?
I administer a number of Windows machines, and am trying to find a really good application to remote desktop in to them from my Mac. I've tried CoRD, and I really like its library approach to saved ...
18
votes
10answers
16k views
What's a good Mac equivalent of WinMerge?
WinMerge is an excellent and very powerful file merging tool, but as the name would imply, it's Windows only. What's a good equivalent on the Mac?
18
votes
4answers
5k views
Best app to switch between all open windows (alternatives to Witch)
After 4 years of being a Mac user, there is only one thing that I still miss from the Windows world, and that is being able to switch with a single keystroke between all open windows in the computer.
...
17
votes
36answers
5k views
iOS Developer Tools & Utilities (must haves and nice to haves)
I'm new to Mac's in general and iOS development. I've used an iPhone and iPad, and I'm looking to write apps for both. I'm a (newly) registered Apple developer and have Xcode downloaded and working my ...
17
votes
16answers
3k views
Is there a free, lightweight text editor that isn't text-only but also isn't a heavyweight IDE?
I'm not really satisfied with the text-editors available for Mac OS X.
I tried TextWrangler, Smultron, Coda, SubEthaEdit, TextMate and others I do not remember. But none of the above satisfied my ...
17
votes
4answers
1k views
What are some alternatives to Quicksilver?
I'm an avid fan of QuickSilver, and I had been using it for several years already. But then development of the application seemed to have stagnated for a while, and many bugs (specially with plugins ...
16
votes
11answers
2k views
What's a good program to batch resize 100,000 jpg images?
The program should run in batch mode to resize all files in a folder and then save new files to different folder. An option for setting jpg quality would be great, too.
16
votes
6answers
2k views
Is there a image editor like Windows' Paint for OS X?
I tried out several image editors mentioned on this site but I tested some of them like (Pixen and Seashore) I was very disappointed. These apps were so simple and was too low level.
What do you ...
16
votes
6answers
2k views
What RSS reader software runs on iOS, Andriod and OS X for someone used to Google reader?
What software and service functions similarly to an RSS reader which will sync between my Macs, iOS devices, and Android devices?
I am looking for a web view similar to Google reader as well as ...
16
votes
2answers
726 views
Can I record a phone call on an iPhone?
Nothing more to say than "Is there an app to record the current phone call ?" :-)
15
votes
8answers
2k views
Anyone know of a Finder replacement?
I am starting to dislike the Finder. Does anybody know of a good Finder replacement, something Unixy or Nexty which will still work with all Mac OS X applications?
15
votes
9answers
21k views
Is there a relational database with GUI for Mac similar to Microsoft Access or the like?
I need a desktop database that will have a need for extensive 1-many, many-1, and many to many relationships.
I've built this kind of app with Microsoft Access, which I don't love, but does combine ...
15
votes
7answers
20k views
What's a good XML viewer/editor for Mac OS X?
I use XML Editor from XMLmind for editing/viewing XML file in Mac.
It's not bad, but I expect an XML editor for Mac. What options do I have including the commercial/free software?
15
votes
5answers
7k views
How do I make windows save their position on screen after re-attaching a display?
When I attach a second monitor to my MacBook, I drag many windows onto it. When I detach the monitor, all the windows move back onto my MacBook's display. How can I make it so that when I re-attach ...
14
votes
9answers
6k views
Is there a good command-line ID3 tool for OS X?
Anyone know of a command-line* ID3 tool, with support for ID3v2, that you can get working on Mac OS X with reasonable effort? It should support both reading and writing tags.
(* I want to be able to ...
14
votes
5answers
39k views
Is there an application like Connectify for Mac OS X Lion?
There is a well known app for Windows named: Connectify, used to share a wifi connection between a computer that only has wifi with other devices which requests that connection from the computer.
...
14
votes
4answers
4k views
Dropbox-like client for Macs to access existing FTP/WebDAV/CMIS storage
We have many users on Macs that access their files on one big non-Mac server that supports FTP/WebDAV/CMIS.
PROBLEM: They can not use their files while not connected to the Internet.
QUESTION: Is ...
13
votes
6answers
30k views
How to combine two images into one on a Mac?
Say I have two photos (or any images), for example with the following dimensions:
+----------+ +----------+
| | | |
| | | |
|320 x 428 | and ...
13
votes
6answers
4k views
What's the best text editor for use with large files?
What are your recommendation for opening large text files on OS X? I found both BBEdit and Textmate to be struggling in this department.
13
votes
8answers
3k views
Which text editors take advantage of Lion's Versions feature?
I've been a fervent user of Textmate for many a year, and I hope to continue to be one. However, the versions feature of OSX seems like a great and easy to use idea.
I'm mostly doing HTML, CSS and ...
13
votes
7answers
4k views
How can I sync my iTunes music library between two Macs for free?
I have a desktop system that I use as a server. I also have a MacBook Pro that is my main computer. I've done a lot of organization and cleanup of my music library and have it all on my MacBook Pro.
...
12
votes
13answers
1k views
Can anyone recommend a programmers' editor?
I'm looking for a programmers' editor. I know Xcode and I use it for application programming but I'm looking for something that will:
Syntax highlight PHP, SQL, Javascript (including jQuery) and CSS ...
12
votes
13answers
5k views
Do any window managers allow me to snap windows to the sides of the display?
Can you recommend a Window Manager for the Mac? I would like to have a keyboard shortcut that would snap a windows to the left or right half of my screen.
12
votes
5answers
677 views
Can you recommend an editor for both iOS and Mac OS X designed for writers?
Is there an editor designed specifically for writers of short prose? Currently I am using Microsoft Word and it is very heavy weight.
Large technical reports need indices, chapters, heavy formatting ...
12
votes
6answers
8k views
What's a good SSH tunneling client for OS X?
I've using SSH Tunnel manager to easily set up and stop port tunneling over SSH to various servers at my company. That saved me the pain of opening up a new terminal window which will hang out there ...
12
votes
4answers
816 views
How can I improve/replace View Source in Safari?
As a new convert to Safari, I am astonished by how unbearably ugly default page source view is.
The font is miserably small and unaliased, leave alone color highlighting.
Is there a way to enhance ...
12
votes
5answers
1k views
Are there any free alternatives to finder?
Relatively new to the Mac world, I still find the 'Finder' not really that user friendly.
What free alternatives to Finder exist?
*I mean really file browsers, not application launchers like ...
12
votes
6answers
4k views
Subtitle editor for OSX?
I have a video in mp4 (MPEG-4) and I would like to add subtitles to it. What tool or application would you recommend to help me write and sync the subtitles with the video?
12
votes
3answers
6k views
Is there a tool I can use to securely wipe data from iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch?
Is there a tool or application that will securely wipe an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad (i.e. any iOS device?)
I'm not interested in a complete wipe that would brick the device. Rather, I'd want to ...
11
votes
8answers
5k views
Looking for a good SSH apps for iPhone
I have been using a free SSH app on my phone for a little while but stopped because using VIM mostly broke it. Now after some updates I seems to have a limited number of key strokes before it expires. ...
11
votes
9answers
54k views
How can I make my Mac a DLNA server and/or client?
How can I make my Mac be a DLNA server and/or client?
11
votes
4answers
423 views
What software has the features I need to replace Skype?
For the past few years Skype has been getting progressively worse with each iteration. Skype 5 moved away from the compact 2.X era interface to an interface that's much more wasteful and less usable. ...
10
votes
6answers
29k views
Alternative to Windows Snipping Tool for Mac OSX
Is there something like the Windows Snipping Tool for OSX?
For those, who don't know about the tool, it's an easy to use software to take snapshot of any portion of screen, and is really useful in ...
10
votes
10answers
5k views
What are Mac OS replacements for Visio?
Visio is the most conspicuous example of a program that I found useful on Windows for which I have not identified a Mac-compatible replacement.
Visio's primary function is as a flowchart diagramming ...
10
votes
7answers
2k views
Editor or notes application with Markdown support?
Are there any editors or notes applications out there that support Markdown?
I am often having to make notes or documents where markdown formatting would be ideal, and have gotten into the habit of ...
10
votes
7answers
26k views
Is there a file copy utility for OS X that's similar to TeraCopy for Windows?
On Windows, I use TeraCopy for improved file copying. Are there any similar equivalents for OS X?
In particular, I'd like to see things like copy speed.
10
votes
6answers
6k views
Is there a screen capture tool that will export to animated gif?
I'm looking for a screen capture tool that will export the capture to animated gif.
10
votes
8answers
8k views
What options exist for ad free web browsing on iOS?
In OS X I can use extensions in most browsers to block ads. This offers an distraction free browsing experience.
For example: In Safari, Chrome and Firefox I can use Adblock or Adblock Plus. Both ...
10
votes
4answers
3k views
How to use the new iPad (3rd gen) as a second screen?
I carry my iPad everywhere, and now that I've got the new one with the high resolution display, I'd like to use it as a second monitor for my Macbook Pro. It would be great if I could occasionally ...
10
votes
5answers
738 views
Download Manager for Mac OS X
What is a good Download Manager for Mac?
Are there free ones available?
10
votes
4answers
7k views
bandwidth shaper or bandwidth controller App for Mac OS X
I'm looking for a bandwidth/packet throttle/shaper program with the following features:
Similar to Windows-based Netlimiter.
GUI based and not terminal or command line.
Shows list of all ...
9
votes
9answers
831 views
What is the best media player for the mac (besides .mov - e.g., .mp3, .wmv, .avi, .mpg, etc)
I've recently switched from PC to Mac, so I'm slowly building a library of useful utilities. So, any recommendations for the best generic media player?
On the PC - I've found the VLC player to be ...
