The end is drawing nigh … well , the end of the twelvemonth 2011 , at least . Which means it ’s the time of year when we take a feel back at the best products of the previous twelve months . We ’ve give you our annualEddy Awardsfor the better overall product of the yr and ourApp Gems Awardsfor the good iOS apps . Which entrust me with the adept Mac Gems of the twelvemonth .
Unlike our Eddy and App Gems awards , the favorite Gems of 2011 were n’t take using a grueling appendage involving the entireMacworldeditorial faculty . Rather , these 15 products were handwriting - pick by me — it ’s one of the perks of the job — from among the roughly 120 Mac Gems we bring out over the retiring yr . ( To be eligible for Mac Gems , a product must be price at $ 35 or less and clear a 3.5 - computer mouse evaluation or higher . )
Whether a intersection take in five mice or three and a half , these are the ones that I felt genuinely stand out , either because they did something newfangled and innovative ; because they offered exceptional time value ; or just because I found myself using them over and over . From managing window to curtain raising apps , from tweaking Lion to hone photos , these inexpensive app program and add - ons will help you get the most out of your Mac without blowing your budget .
Eddy-winning Gems
This year , an unprecedentedfourMac Gems wereEddy - Award achiever . To some extent , you may thank the influence of the Mac App Store for this , as the store has driven down the terms of Mac software . The result is that bully Mac software is less expensive than ever — indeed , more Mac Gems were under consideration for Eddy Awards this twelvemonth than in any previous year .
Allow me to borrow generously from our Eddy descriptions of these apps :
Alfred 0.8 (; liberal ; Powerpack , $ 18 ): We ’re handsome fans of launcher utilities , which let you set up apps , receptive files , and execute other Mac tasks with a few quick keystroke . The top frank have foresighted beenLaunchBar , Butler , and Quicksilver , but Alfred join the pack this yr and quickly became the favorite of a few of my colleagues . On its own , Alfred does n’t have as many bells and whistles as the other three , but it ’s easier to use , and if you tally the optional Powerpack , it gain many of the most popular features of those veterans . It ’s also extensible , so other users can create and distribute Alfred ADHD - ons that black market AppleScripts , carapace script , Automator work flow , and custom file filter .
Fantastical 1.1 (; $ 20 ): This menu - bar - found calendar can , for many the great unwashed , altogether supplant a full - blow out calendar broadcast such as iCal . It gives you a drop - down calendar plus a track list of upcoming events ; and even if you apply iCal , BusyMac ’s BusyCal , Microsoft ’s Entourage or Outlook , or a calendar host on MobileMe , iCloud , Google Calendar , or Yahoo Calendar , Fantastical have you create and edit events without having to open those programs or websites . you’re able to create new events by just typing innate - language descriptions : Lunch with Janet Friday at Pasta Palace .
Moom 2.3.1 (; $ 5 ): This ready to hand utility offers a pot of feature film for affect and resizing window , especially if you frequently use special windowpane sizes and locations . For fledgling , Moom makes every windowpane ’s little immature Zoom button useful : Move the cursor over that button and you could instantly dislodge and resize the current window , either by choosing one of the preset window layouts or by draft , on a control grid act your screen , the desire window position and sizing . or else , you’re able to press a keyboard shortcut to get up Moom ’s keyboard - ascendancy overlay , which offers the same option ( and more ) for keyboard jockeys . you’re able to also make your own custom window layout and activate them with a click or a key press , and Moom can even take a snap of your covert and subsequently restore all windows to that layout — either on your mastery or automatically when it sense a unlike display contour .
Printopia 2.1.5 (; $ 20 ): This Mac OS X contribute - on extends iOS ’s AirPrint feature by let you print from iOS gimmick ( or other Macs run Lion ) to any or all printers configure on your Mac , no matter how they ’re connected . But just as useful are Printopia ’s other features : Using the iOS print dialogue , you may carry through document to a folder on your Mac ( for example , for saving receipts from an online purchases ) , pull through documents to your Mac ’s Dropbox folder ( thus form them available to any of your Dropbox - configured devices ) , send documents to applications on your Mac ( for example , to open an Io screenshot in your favourite image editor , or to send a text file to Evernote ) , or work on a written document using any of the PDF - workflow selection available in OS X mark dialogue . Printopia even lets you configure your favorite printer preferences — paper size , print quality , and more — for AirPrint printing .
The other 11 standouts
Of the rest 100 + Gems we reviewed this retiring yr , these eleven rounded out my 15 ducky :
iNet 1.2.1 (; $ 6 ) andNetSpot 1.1.284 (; destitute ): OK , I ’m cuckold here by counting these two public utility as a individual first appearance . But the two apps , each designed to aid you get the most out of your web , complement each other well and cost a whopping $ 6together . iNet is a beautiful app that offer an leisurely - to - function summary of information about your internet and the twist on it . NetSpot , meanwhile , is an amazing little utility that uses your MacBook to map out out your Wi - Fi net , help you optimize your insurance coverage area and minimize dead spots .
Isolator 4.4 (; defrayment requested ): With all the distraction our Macs offer , sometimes we just want to focus — indeed , we get a surprising issue of reader requests for direction aids . Isolator offer help by mechanically fade ( tintingin the program ’s nomenclature ) everything but the frontmost covering , the card bar , and ( optionally ) the Dock . you’re able to conform the tincture colouring and story , choose the duration of fades , and even practice various filters to ground computer programme or else of a canonical tint . A number of useful options let you tailor-make Isolator ’s behavior to your preferences , and if you want to temporarily handicap Isolator , a dewy-eyed click or key imperativeness lets you toggle it off and on . I never retrieve I needed a focal point aid , but after reviewing Isolator , I never uninstalled it .
Lion Tweaks 1.3 (; defrayment requested ): This match - all utility for tweaking the behavior of Lion ( Mac OS X 10.7 ) is n’t something the typical person would use oftentimes — in fact , you may use it only once per Mac — but it was nevertheless one of the most democratic Gems of 2011 among reader . ( Granted , this may say as much about the choices Apple made in design Lion as it does about the quality of Lion Tweaks . ) Interestingly , Lion Tweaks was also among the mostdislikedGems of the year , as many Lion fans seemed to find Lion Tweaks should n’t exist . bed it or detest it , Lion Tweaks take in it simple to alter closely two dozen interface and behavioral setting that are commonly inaccessible . Since I reviewed it back in September , the usefulness has realize several extra options , making it even more utile .
MsgFiler 3.0.1 (; $ 10 ): My favorite hyperkinetic syndrome - on for OS X ’s Mail electronic mail guest , MsgFiler is train at those of us who ’d rather file messages using the keyboard than using a black eye or trackpad . Select one or more messages , printing press MsgFiler ’s shortcut and type a few letter of the destination mailbox ’s name , and press Return . In practice , the filing process is lightning - fast , and it saves quite a bit of clicking and dragging . MsgFiler also makes it loose to switch between letter box , copy messages rather of moving them , add label to messages , and create new mailboxes . How much did this total - on improve my productivity — and save my hands and radiocarpal joint from repetitious tension ? According to MsgFiler , I filed over 28,000 messages this yr using it , which amounts to over 75 messages each and every day . If you file a fate of e-mail in OS X ’s Mail , MsgFiler is a no - brainer .
Piezo 1.1 (; $ 10 ): Every year , one of the most - frequent request we receive is for ways to immortalize audio frequency playing in finicky apps . For example , to memorialize sound that ’s playing in a internet browser windowpane , in DVD Player , in a streaming - audio guest , or in a VoIP app such as iChat , Skype , or FaceTime . Piezo make this tilt at the conducting wire — it was released in December — by offering utter - uncomplicated recording of audio from any app or input , and doing it with a magical port that ’s merriment to use .
Reeder for Mac 1.1.2 (; $ 10 ): When it come to RSS meter reading , I ’m still a devoted NetNewsWire user — at least on the Mac . But I can appreciate the appeal of Reeder for Mac , as it ’s the desktop adaptation of my favorite iOS word reviewer . While Reeder ca n’t match the advanced features of NetNewsWire , what it offers is an iOS - cheer port and slap-up gesture control that make it a instinctive fit for Lion and Apple ’s Magic Trackpad ( or , of course , a MacBook ’s trackpad ) , along with enough features and options to satisfy all but the worst news - feed junkies . And it best NetNewsWire when it comes to social - media support , letting you partake narration to Twitter , Facebook , Evernote , Pinboard , Zootool , Instapaper , and Readability .
Scroll Reverser 1.4.2 (; gratis ): Like Lion Tweaks , Scroll Reverser lets you tweak OS X ’s behavior — specifically , Lion ’s invert scrolling . And like Lion Tweaks , Scroll Reverser is as criticized as it is popular . But for those of us who ’ve tried to avoid the Great Scrolling War of 2011 , Scroll Reverser is utilitarian because it lets us choosedifferentscrolling options for different input signal devices . For example , I can use Lion ’s new turn back scrolling on my Magic Trackpad and my MacBook Air ’s built - in trackpad , but habituate traditional scrolling with my computer mouse and trackball . Scroll Reverser also lets you opt whether to reverse both horizontal and perpendicular scrolling , or just one or the other .
Skitch 1.0.1 (; costless ; Plus account , $ 20 / twelvemonth ): While various beta incarnations of Skitch have been around since 2007 , this utility for pickings , editing , annotation , and apportion images and screenshots was finally official in 2011 . Take a screenshot with one of Skitch ’s various shaft , take a exposure with your Mac ’s camera , or spell an simulacrum from iPhoto or Aperture , and you may easily resize , crop , annotate , and instance it , and then share it via Flickr , MobileMe , FTP / SFTP , WebDAV , or the Skitch website . I have n’t get word anything this soft with as many feature and option .
Snapheal 1.0 (; $ 20 ; presently on sale for $ 6 ): For class , the ability to remove undesirable objects from photos — whether those object be mar on a face or people in a portrayal — was limited to Photoshop expert . Recent versions of Photoshop have made this capability a bit more accessible , but you still need to blast out several hundred dollars for the privilege . Snapheal is an sluttish and much - less - expensive alternative . Just drag a exposure into the app ’s window , use one of several eraser modes to paint over the object(s ) you want to remove , and clack Erase . In a few seconds , the choose item(s ) are croak . Snapheal also includes a few utilitarian effigy - editing tools for retouch and pull off double without having to switch to another app . Snapheal is utilitarian , it has a great interface , and it ’s playfulness to utilize — what ’s not to like ?
TextWrangler 3.5.3 (; destitute ): As a professional technical school writer , it ’s possible that I spend more time inBBEditthan using any other program on my Mac . But BBEdit ’s little sibling , TextWrangler , is a standout schoolbook editor that volunteer much of the same functionality — syntax colouring , codification fold , integrated FTP / SFTP financial support , text edition - manipulation tools , multi - file search and exchange , veritable - construction searching , and much more — for the low , grim price of free .
Undock 1.0 (; $ 1 ): Designed in the first place for laptop computer exploiter , this simple utility get it easy to wad up and go by automatically unmounting all mounted intensity — obliterable , internet , or both — with a single detent or key press . It even safely cancels in - progress Time Machine backup before unmounting Time Machine drives . Once you see Undock ’s Growl notification , you know it ’s safe to disconnect and depart . ripe users can have Undock bunk Applescripts during the undock legal action . As with Isolator , once I installed this picayune utility I never thought I needed , it earned a lasting place on my laptop .
Honorable mentions
A few other Gems abide out this class , but because they were either relatively minor updates of previous Gems or their collection is somewhat niche - yttrium , I decided not to include them in the list of overall favorites . Nevertheless , they were among the best Gems we report , and I use several of them every day .
Airfoil for Mac 4.0.2 (; $ 25 ): An update edition of the fantabulous utility for sendinganyaudio over AirPlay / AirTunes .
Desktop Curtain 2.1 (; $ 2 ): A must - have utility for anyone who frequently necessitate screenshots .
FastScripts 2.5 (; $ 15 ): A meaning update to this menu - Browning automatic rifle and keyboard - shortcut usefulness for handwriting jockey .
FreeSpace 1.0 (; $ 1 ): A card - cake public-service corporation for displaying a list of all mounted volume and the available devoid quad on each , this app also make it easy to open or eject volumes .
I Love Stars 3.5.3 (; $ 1 ): A prissy update to my favourite utility for range iTunes tracks .
QuickCursor 2.0 (; $ 5 ): A keen little utility that lets you use your preferent text editor any clock time , and in any software , you have to typecast or edit textual matter .
wait for more of the best affordable Mac software ? hold back out the good gem of 2010 , as well as some aged ( read : in need of updates ) Gems lean : 2010’s10 must - establish gem , the 2009 list of all - clock time favs , the 2009 list of Gems I ’m thankful for and the 2010 lean of more Gems I ’m grateful for . Want to stick around up to date with the latest stone ? Sign up for the Mac Gems newssheet for a weekly electronic mail summary of Gems review send directly to your Inbox . you could alsofollow Mac Gems on Twitter .
