5 Apps that should be on every Mac

So you bought a Mac. Nicely done. I’m sure that you have already discovered why your friends and the internet won’t shut up about this damned computer. For me, it’s iPhoto, iMovie ‘08 and Preview, plus the fact that it. Just. Works.

Besides that, there are a few other apps that I think should be preinstalled on every Mac. Let’s call this my list of must have Mac applications.

First up in our hit parade has to be Skitch. Sure the Mac does screen shots out of the box very well, but Skitch takes screen shots to a new level. Easy to use, quick to start, plus you can do all kinds of neat things like add text or graphics to your snaps. Then, when you are done, you can easily share those snaps with the entire world via Flickr or Skitch.com. This is an app that should cost $50 for the Pro version. Luckily, it’s still free!

In the number 2 spot is Quicksilver. It’s an app launcher and much much more. Also free. If you are one that likes to use the keyboard more than the mouse, I highly recommend it. Once installed, set it to launch with a cmd-spacebar key* combo. Feel free to search around for other cool stuff this app can do. It’s limitless.

Coming in at numba 3 is Exposé. Ok, this one comes on every Mac already, but it’s not turned on. Go into System Preferences and do just that. Don’t forget to activate hot corners either. Being able to display all of your open windows with a simple swipe of the mouse if way handier than you think. Being able to show the desktop the same way is even handier still. For the record, I use Top right to display, botton left to show the desktop.

For you Instant Messengers out there, you need Adium. Works with AIM, Yahoo, MSN, gChat and I think ICQ. The only drawback is that it does not support video chat. Get your friends to start using Skype for that.

Of course, you have iChat already installed. It’s basically an AIM client that supports audio and video. Oh, and screen sharing that works. Great way to help or get help from your Mac friends.

If you need light image editing and don’t want to drop $700 for the latest Photoshop, I would recommend Acorn. It’s a great app, and for only $50 it’s a steal! Does almost everything Photoshop does already, is faster and easier to figure out. Sure I still use PS, but for the bulk of the image editing I do, Acorn is my go-to app.

Finally, a browser other than Safari. Sure the Mac fanboi’s are freaking out right now, but lets be honest. Safari isn’t all that and a bag of chips 100% of the time. No browser is. Always nice to have a backup, and you would be very well served by either Firefox or Camino. Unless you are an Opera person. You can run that too.

If you think I missed something, you know what to do. Comments are open! Feel free to ask questions too.

*System Preferences –> Spotlight. Uncheck the bottom 2 checkboxes. Envoke Quicksilver, press cmd+, (comma) and in the Command section, set it to cmd-spacebar.

Why I don’t like WYSISWYG editors

I really like the idea of WYSIWYG editors. I do. You drag things around, make it look the way you want, press a button and like magic, you have a nice looking HTML document.

I also really like a sense of order. Not in all things, which you might know if you have ever seen my desk. But in the kitchen and my closet. And my HTML code.

Therein lies the problem with editors for me. If you look at the screen shot above, you will see it’s a bit of a mess. Compared to this (a screen shot of this particular post to this point):

Nice and tidy. Relatively easy to read if I need to go back and edit anything or make any changes. Unlike our friend at the top of the post.

Our test subject today was created with Windows Live Writer. A fine offline blogging app. But it’s not the only offender. I have tried MarsEdit and ScribeFire for Firefox (it used to be called something else) and they both put up equally ugly code.

This is why my offline editor of choice is usually the built-in text editor (Note Pad, Text Edit) that comes with the OS. I also like to use Smultron on the Mac and I just started playing with Notepad ++ on Windows. It’s also why I don’t use the Visual editor in Wordpress. I stick to the HTML view as you can see above.

Creating a blog post is easy. Adding images and links is easy. Changing font styles to bold or italic is easy. It’s just a matter of knowing a few bits of HTML and typing them out. To that end, I will be posting an HTML for bloggers post later in the week to help you out.

Editors aren’t evil. Well, yes, they are. But if someone could write one that did not produce ugly code (or cost $500), then maybe I’d use them. But for now, I’ll stick to the HTML.

(Yes, you can screenshot shot Skitch itself. Click the Tools button and choose Snap Skitch Itself from the drop down. You gotta love Skitch!)

Not relating to anything to else that I have posted here in the last few days days. Honest!

I was working on the film transfer edit and was wondering if I had a happy birthday song. Instead of looking for that, I only searched for happy. The results are above.

Then Josh replied that he only had 7, and I got a reply on Facebook that only had 5.

I thought this could be a fun little game we could play. How much happy is in your music? Mac users, bust out skitch and make a fun badge, like this.

Come on, let us know!

So, instead of sitting here being mad about not being at the New Media Expo in Vegas this weekend, I will share my current favorites.

• Skitch. This one has actually been bumped to living in the dock for me I’m using it so much lately. I would, for sure, pay for this.
• Fluidapp. I’ve heard that SSBs will be a part of the next version of OSX. Until then, there is this and it’s awesome.
• Quicksilver. I’m lost without this. Let’s me work without thinking or looking at the keyboard. Stuff. Just. Happens.
• Viddler. Have you seen the new features? Check out my new player! If there was a “Pro” account (like flickr), I would totally pony up.

Sure there are other free apps out there for the Mac, but none of them wow me like these. If you don’t use them, I believe it would be well worth your time.