Hot answers tagged software
34
There is anti-virus software available for Mac OS X:
Intego VirusBarrier
ClamXAV (Free)
Norton AnitVirus Mac Edition
McAfee VirusScan for Mac
Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac (Consumer Version is free)
Is it worth it? That's largely up to you. Personally I'd say unless required there's no reason to so long as you practice "safe computing" (eg. not opening files ...
16
You could try Paintbrush (free).
As quoted from its website :
Paintbrush is a simple paint program for Mac OS X, reminiscent of Microsoft Paint and Apple’s own now-defunct MacPaint. It provides users with a means to make simple images quickly, something which has been noticeably absent from the Mac for years.
12
Your question is very general so here is a general answer:
Document files are all dependant on the software for compatibility, not the operating system. So files like .doc .docx .pdf .txt .rtf etc are all compatible with Windows and Mac. This is the same for files like Photoshop files or Powerpoint files.
Video files are dependent on the codecs installed ...
11
The most popular IRC client on the Mac platform is undoubtedly Colloquy (free). It has a sleek interface and is extremely configurable.
You can find others here: http://osx.iusethis.com/tag/irc
10
You can change the language inside the preferences file of the application :
defaults write com.apple.TextEdit AppleLanguages '("en-US")'
Or just run once one application with another language :
/Applications/iCal.app/Contents/MacOS/iCal -AppleLanguages '(de)'
10
Yes.
Apps are installed to the usual /Applications folder. Non-admin users can browse the store, but they will need an admin username/password to install apps. Source: Help menu of App Store/Purchase Applications/Buy, download, and install applications/To buy, download, and install an application:/Step 4.
10
One of the best apps I've found is iChm. It has a Spotlight importer as well as the app itself. It's free as well as being open source.
Only issue I've had with it is that sometimes long "m dashes", like —, will not be present, and instead the two words will be run together. (Though, I've looked at the source code myself, and it appears to actually be a ...
10
Revised because of edited question...
OmniPlan can create very nice looking Gantt charts and timelines out of project plan data. It is a full-on project planning tool, which might be overkill. But the output is quite lovely.
10
You should use RVM, the Ruby Version Manager. It allows multiple side-by-side installations of Ruby without affecting the system Ruby installation, which as another commenter pointed out can potentially be problematic (or at the very least, tiresome to maintain).
It allows you to quickly and easily install the latest patchlevel of Ruby, past Ruby versions, ...
9
Use QuickTime to Rotate Videos
You don't need to use any 3rd party tools to do this. It's built right in to QuickTime Player.
Any file that can be opened in QuickTime can be rotated by choosing Edit > Rotate Left (or Right) or by typing Command-Shift-L / R.
If you alter a movie file in this way and attempt to close the file (Command-W) you will be ...
9
If the app is a driver or some kind of system hack, then you better read it's documentation or contact it's tech support team to find out how to uninstall it.
For most apps, simply quit the app and drag it to the trash.
Most mac apps won't create much extra "junk". It will leave a few configuration files/etc around, but they're usually really small and you ...
8
I think it’s too subjective. Anyway, probably the two candidates are:
1) You don’t have Photoshop experience (or want to get far from it): Acorn is for you.
2) You know Photoshop and have some experience with it: Pixelmator will make you feel more at home.
8
AppCleaner all the way. The vast majority of apps on the Mac are self-contained, which is why there's no built-in uninstall method in Mac OS X. The only exception to that is plist files - essentially just application preferences. These are tiny text files and usually inconsequential if left behind when you remove an app. (Leaving them also preserves you ...
8
It depends on what applications you want to keep to yourself and which ones you want to make accessible to all users:
Applications stored in /Applications are installed for all users.
The ~ stands for your home folder.
Applications stored in ~username/Applications are only for access by the user username.
7
No, it's not worth it to buy any antivirus software for your Mac. This is for two reasons. Firstly, the number of viruses in the wold for OS X is infinitesimal. Your risk is extremely low, and what viruses do exist, are mostly proofs of concept or MS Office Macro Viruses targeting old versions of Office.
The second reason is because for what antivirus needs ...
7
I'm not sure if you have a smartphone, but Shazam and SoundHound work well by using the phone's mic to identify songs while they're playing. And I know you said you don't want to use MusicBrainz, but have you tried the scan feature? It scans the song and tries to identify it based on a musical "fingerprint", not just by metadata.
7
Apple offers a Feedback Form where both bug reports and feature requests can be submitted by anyone. Be sure to describe the issue or feature as clearly and concisely as possible.
Developers should use the BugReport.apple.com. If you carefully describe the issue including step by step instructions for reproducing the problem, they tend to get attention ...
7
It depends on exactly how they changed the update server setting. If they did the obvious thing, this should delete the setting (so it'll go back to normal):
sudo defaults delete /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate CatalogURL
If that doesn't work, it's possible it's configured as a per-user (rather than system-wide) setting, in which case this ...
7
This is the Mac OS X built in voice input mechanism.
To turn it off, visit preferences - it's possible to turn it on via a keyboard shortcut which may explain it's random appearance.
Speech Recognition
Speakable Items, built into OS X and located in the Speech pane of
System Preferences, lets you control the computer using your voice
...
6
During the "optimizing" stage, the system is "prebinding" executables. As per Wikipedia:
Prebinding is a method for reducing the time it takes to launch executables in the Mach-O file format.
Prebinding looks up memory addresses of symbols in libraries that the program is using before the program is launched, and stores this information ...
6
This isn't a dialog, this is the result of mounting (opening) the Firefox.dmg (think of it as an archive or drive image). For mac users it's obvious - you should drag the FF icon to the Applications folder shortcut (the blue folder). This will copy the Firefox application in the /Applications/ folder. Then just unmount (eject) the Firefox.dmg archive and ...
6
It really all depends on how much patience you have. Using Motion as a stand alone editor is possible, but it is an incredible hassle. For example, cutting film into different pieces puts those different pieces into different layers. Sometimes it detaches the audio, which then means you have to do audio syncing. Plus, if the project is a long one, your ...
6
Why yes, it can, as a matter of fact. Follow these steps to hear some high quality jokes on your Mac.
Open up Speech Recognition in your system settings.
Enable "Speakable Items"
Enable "Speak Command Acknowledgement"
Set up the rest however you like (in regards to key press or keyword for input). When you're ready, say "Tell me a joke." (Or, if you ...
6
Anecdotally, the drives of 5 to 15 years ago would run longer if you never spun them down. When I managed servers - the drives failed less rapidly than the inexpensive hard drives that were in workstations (which typically spun down). It's not clear if we would have seen similar failure rates if we placed the higher priced (and presumably better built for ...
5
I think your best choice is :
Clipboard Evolved
But you can also use these softwares:
JumpCut (Free and open source)
Clipmenu (As Calavera said :"ClipMenu is nice because it's free")
Clyppan
CuteClip
PTHPasteboard
5
Mobile Time Machine and Time Machine in Lion: using Terminal to view activities
At any time
A command such as this will present a lightweight overview:
tail -f /private/var/log/system.log | grep -E 'backup|mtm'
During a backup
A command such as this will present detail:
sudo fs_usage cmd backupd
When you have finished
To interrupt a running ...
5
I suggested you try SongBird.
also you can choose:
PicoPlay
VoxApp
Banshee
5
I use AppFresh. It's nearly perfect. A lot of apps are recognized, even new ones and widgets and prefpanes too.
It's backed up by iusethis to check for update, but can also check for Apple or Microsoft Office updates.
5
The simple fact is that malware has always existed for Mac OS, so the statement that a Mac can't get malware is patently, demonstrably and dangerously false.
However, for many years; the scarcity of viruses, trojans and other malware that spread widely or affect a broad cross-section of Mac users has contributed to a perceived complacency about good ...
5
You can use MPEG Stream Clip: http://www.squared5.com/svideo/mpeg-streamclip-mac.html
Simply open the file and choose to export it from the file menu in a format of your choosing, selecting the appropriate rotation in the selection box.
You can find out the current format of the video by choosing File > Show Stream Info as to match the export to the input ...
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