10 Must-Have Mac OS X Apps
Apple may have some work to do to restore its reputation for software, but third-party developers have got the company's back.
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Apple's software hasn't been as good as it should be lately. Developer Marco Arment raised the issue in a widely read blog post in January. And former Apple executive Jean-Louis Gassée explored it further, noting several others who had voiced similar concerns.
Apple's acknowledgement of the issue can be inferred from the focus of its next desktop operating system, OS X El Capitan: "Refining the experience and improving performance in lots of little ways that make a big difference." It can also be seen in the company's decision to replace its recently introduced discoveryd networking software in June's OS X 10.10.4 update with its older, more stable mDNSResponder code. Apple is paying attention.
Awareness of the issue hasn't made it go away. Consider Apple Music, the streaming service that Apple recently added to its iTunes app. iTunes is the turducken of apps, a hodgepodge of individually interesting ingredients combined in a way that just seems wrong. The Telegraph's characterization of Apple Music as "clunky, fussing, confusing, and flawed" was echoed by a number of other reviewers. Arment's description of the iTunes app (and its supporting cloud services) as "toxic hellstew" should be read in its entirety.
Not all Apple software is as uneven as iTunes or the initial release of Apple Maps. Most of it is pretty good, at least. But when software is as essential to the Apple ecosystem as iTunes, it should be better.
Part of the problem Apple faces is that the competition – from which Apple shields iTunes – hasn't been compelling. The company has been able to rest on its laurels without much worry. It continues to collect the majority of the profit in the mobile market. And Mac sales have been rising, while sales of Windows PCs have been falling. Apple is clearly doing some things right.
Google may have turned Android into a viable iOS alternative, but it isn't using Chrome OS to challenge Apple on the desktop. Microsoft hopes to recapture its former glory with Windows 10, but early reviews don't suggest an immediate, radical reversal of fortune for the company. Maybe in time. But I wouldn't bet on it.
While Apple gets its house in order, many third-party developers have been holding up their part of the bargain. There are some great OS X and iOS apps out there, apps that put iTunes to shame through their simplicity and usability.
I'm going to focus on OS X apps rather than iOS apps or web apps because I still do most of my computing tasks on a MacBook Pro. I appreciate my iPhone, but I spend far more time using desktop software.
These selections represent a fairly eclectic group of apps. I'm going to avoid some obvious favorites -- such as Chrome, Dropbox, Evernote, and Skype -- and focus on apps that have helped me accomplish specific tasks efficiently and with style. For your consideration, here are 10 must-have OS X apps.
My favorite app of the moment is a recent discovery. Jaden Geller's Helium for OS X creates a floating browser window that can be positioned over other active windows. To understand why that might be useful, imagine trying to watch a webcast video while taking notes in Google Docs. To do so, you have to put two browser windows next to each other, so one doesn't obscure the other. This ends up reducing your writing space and allows only one pane to have input focus.
Helium provides a way to work in one browser or app window while another window is overlaid on top. There's no switching focus back and forth, and clicking on the window beneath doesn't hide the window on top. It just works. It's perfect for taking notes or writing code while watching a video. You can even control the overlaid window's transparency to see what's behind it.
CleanMyMac 3 is beautifully designed and it's surprisingly effective at finding unnecessary files that can be deleted to free space. Fight your hoarding impulse and free some space today.
With the recent discontinuation of Mitro, I had to find another password manager. Comparing 1Password, KeePass, and LastPass, I opted for AgileBits' 1Password and have been happy with the choice. It's a well-designed app, and it doesn't rely on the cloud to store passwords.
There are a lot of good text editors out there. After years of using TextMate, I switched to Sublime Text and couldn't be happier. It's stable, extensible, and easy to use. Others may prefer Brackets, Atom, or Light Table. But my vote goes to Sublime.
Toggl is a terrific time tracker that manages to be simple and functional. It offers free and paid plans.
Serif's Affinity Photo may end up becoming my replacement for Photoshop CS5. It's a well-designed, powerful image editor and quite reasonably priced compared to an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription.
VPN clients aren't usually fun and nice to look at. TunnelBear isn't the usual VPN client. It's easy, effective, and free for limited use. There are also paid plans. If you want to watch HBO while traveling abroad, TunnelBear can help. I wish the desktop client used this map graphic from the iOS app though.
Clear is about as simple as to-do apps get, and that's the way it should be. Available for OS X and iOS, its minimalist aesthetic is just right. You may still find yourself procrastinating, however. If only there were an app for that.
Sending files to other people shouldn't be difficult, but it often is. Infinit makes it simple. That's what all software should do.
Sending files to other people shouldn't be difficult, but it often is. Infinit makes it simple. That's what all software should do.
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