

10 Mac Apps I Can't Live Without - subpixel
http://carsonified.com/blog/work-smarter/10-mac-apps-i-cant-live-without/

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yan
Instead of using 'Witch' to command+tab between windows and apps, I actually
find the built-in method of switching far easier to use: Command+Tab switches
applications, Command+` switches windows within an app. And bundled with my
probably favorite OS X shortcut to un-minimize windows[1], I don't see a need
for added utilities.

[1] If you Command+Tab into an application that's minimized, it won't be
restored, unless: Command+Tab into the minimized application, and while
holding down Command, press Option, and then let go of Command; your window
will spring back to life. This sounds and feels awkward at first, but quickly
becomes second nature. (I use my left hand thumb+ring finger to Command+Tab,
then I just move ring finger from Tab to Option, and let go of Command)

~~~
ugh
It’s really a shame that OS X doesn’t have a consistent shortcut for switching
tabs. It’s ctrl+tab for Safari but not Terminal. – edit: scrap that, only true
for at least those using German keyboard layouts, not everyone using US
keyboard layouts (and others?)

(Cool thing, though, for all these commands is that you can simply switch
direction by throwing in shift.)

~~~
yan
It does have a consistent shortcut: Command+{ and Command+}. Works in every
app that has tabs.

~~~
ugh
Sorry, I’m using a German keyboard. Didn’t actually think of that – the German
keyboard layout seems to get you inconsistent shortcuts.

(Now I know why the terminal has those weird command+Ö and command+Ä
shortcuts, Ö and Ä are presumably where { and } are when you use the US
keyboard layout. Those pesky umlauts. By the way, { and } are alt+8 and alt+9
– also where the normal brackets are when using shift – on a German keyboard.
Oh, and command+Ö or command+Ä totally don’t work in Safari. You have to use
ctrl+tab.)

~~~
riobard
My friend is using a German keyboard on his MBP. He is thinking about buying a
wired Apple English keyboard and exchange all the key caps with the MBP and
then use English keyboard. Not sure if this will work, but then the keys will
be white instead of the default black ...

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jcsalterego
> If the original title begins with a number or number + gratuitous adjective,
> we'd appreciate it if you'd crop it. E.g. translate "10 Ways To Do X" to
> "How To Do X," and "14 Amazing Ys" to "Ys." Exception: when the number is
> meaningful, e.g. "The 5 Platonic Solids."

<http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html>

It's okay to downmod me for getting too meta. Just thought I'd throw that out
there.

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troystribling
I would add MultiClutch to the list
[http://wcrawford.org/2008/02/28/everytime-i-think-about-
you-...](http://wcrawford.org/2008/02/28/everytime-i-think-about-you-i-touch-
my-cell/). It allows you to define custom gestures for any application. I was
thinking of switching to jitouch <http://www.jitouch.com/>. Anyone know how
they compare?

~~~
wtallis
I haven't tried MultiClutch, but from what I can find on the web, it looks
like it lets you re-define what the built-in gestures do. This is fairly
useful, although it has the downside that apps that are designed with the
multitouch gestures in mind lose that functionality.

jitouch doesn't change any of the built-in gestures; it just adds a bunch of
new ones, and lets you configure those. I find this to work quite well,
because many of the gestures (both the standard ones and the jitouch ones) are
very intuitive defaults. (eg. the pinch zooming and the rotating. Re-defining
these seems like a kludge.) Now that jitouch lets you define character-based
gestures, such as drawing an S with two fingers to perform the equivalent of
cmd-S (Save), you can get your touchpad to do a lot of stuff without needing
to resort to esoteric gestures.

~~~
HaloZero
BetterTouch is a good too, it's pretty active development as well.

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btipling
Pixelmator. It's amazing, it's like Photoshop only $600 cheaper and I think it
even has a better user interface. Can't live without it.

~~~
tvon
I'm a fan of Acorn myself, but the suitable-for-most-uses Photoshop
alternatives that have cropped up over the past few years are great.

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nat
These sort of lists always kind of amaze me. I don't think I use 10 mac apps
total. Chrome, iTerm, Mail, iCal, Adium, Twitterrific, iTunes, uh...Unix? I
guess that last one is kind of a multi-parter, but still.

Are the apps in the article addressing problems that don't really exist, or
will I just put up with anything?

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sant0sk1
I'm a big fan of Sequel Pro (mentioned in the comments), and use it daily.

<http://www.sequelpro.com/>

I'm waiting for a high quality MongoDB GUI to take its place though ;)

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nkm
As I posted at the OP:

My essentials: \- SizeUp + Cinch \- TextMate \- Quicksilver \- iStat menus \-
TextExpander \- The Unarchiver \- Growl \- Perian \- Movist

Also, for webdevs: \- WebKit nightly \- ImageOptim \- Colors.app \- Transmit
\- xScope \- CSSEdit \- Sequel Pro \- Changes.app \- Reggy \- GitX

~~~
tvon
Curious, any particular reason for colors.app vs Digital Color Meter?

~~~
nkm
The Custom Formats. Colors.app can both input and output color values in
multiple formats (Hex, RGBA, HSL... you can even create your own), making much
easier working with colors between Photoshop and CSS.

It's basically a nice interface for the system color picker.

I discovered this app not long ago in one of the comments in the following
article; which covers other little gems too, definitely worth reading if
you're into front-end design:

[http://www.macstories.net/reviews/spot-color-use-mac-os-x-
co...](http://www.macstories.net/reviews/spot-color-use-mac-os-x-color-picker-
as-a-standalone-app/)

(sorry about the delay, it's hard to keep track of conversations here! :)

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grayrest
There's an iphone simulator that comes as part of newer versions of xcode
that's a much better environment for testing how web pages will work on the
iphone. Things like touch events and the semi weird float behavior didn't work
in iphoney last time I tried (admittedly 2007).

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christefano
There's a 25% discount for Path Finder right now. The discount code is
LADRUPAL and it will work until the end of April, 2010. Read more about the
deal at <http://knurl.us/url/66zpaut>

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tlrobinson
Yup, I use just about all of those. Also:
<http://blog.tlrobinson.net/post/360281269/installation-log>

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rbanffy
> Caffeine – When activated stops your Mac going to sleep! Great for
> presentations or watching your “on demand” TV shows.

Seriously, you need an app for that?!

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whyme
Seriously - I do! It's great. I can leave my preference settings alone and
conserve my power & screen life with a single click on the mac bar. Plus you
gotta love the little coffee cup that switches between empty and full. :)

