Last twelvemonth , Macworld function up 60 of the best low - toll programs available for the Mac ( “ Mac Software Bargains , ” July 2002 ) . This sentence around , we ’ve tipped the scales with 75 more peachy apps that will help you get the most out of OS X , perfect your creativity , and work well with the cyberspace and over networks .
And thanks to everyone on the Macworld.com forums who say us about their favorite low - cost apps — we apprize the input , and we ’ve review many of those program here .
System Utilities
Alfred 1.4 ; Inferiis , alfred@inferiis.com , www.inferiis.com ; $ 7
Alfred is a customizable add - on and plug - in manager for OS X ; it countenance you enable and disable ( in the manner of OS 9 ’s Extensions Manager ) orientation panes , contextual menus , kernel telephone extension , sieve savers , Services , and many more system minimal brain dysfunction - ons . In improver , you may swing a plug - in icon onto Alfred ’s icon , and Alfred will set up the plug - in for you — no more digging through Library pamphlet to reckon out where it go . you may also create custom installation rules that mechanically move files with certain filename extension , type , and creators to specific folders ( for instance , one formula could move MP3s to your iTunes Music brochure while another moved .dmg files to a software archive ) . — dan frakes
AliasMenu 3.0 ; Benoit Widemann , support@widemann.net , www.widemann.net ; $ 25
The long - await update to the popular O 9 public-service corporation AliasMenu generate hierarchical menu - saloon menus for each brochure or leaflet alias you drip into the AliasMenu leaflet . By editing the names of file or folders , you’re able to create keyboard shortcuts to detail and even make group of items that will open all at once . Selecting a clipping Indian file from an AliasMenu menu pastes its contents into the front - most software ( and as a bonus , a Date clip mechanically paste in the current date ) . you’re able to also get information on any card item , or reveal it in the Finder , instead of opening it . — df
CandyBar 1.5 ; Panic and The Iconfactory , 336/299 - 5251 , www.iconfactory.com ; $ 13
CandyBar makes it easy to change the Finder ’s toolbar icons , pamphlet icons , clipping icons , and even the Trash icon . To deepen an image , pull and drop a unexampled icon onto the exist icon in CandyBar . Due to the change the program produce , you ’ll be postulate to enter your executive ’s password the first time you scuff and swing an picture . If you want to restore things to normal , a Restore Default Icons button make it prosperous to do so . The only actual downside to CandyBar is that you must re-start your Mac to see the effect of your change . — rob D. W. Griffith
Carbon Copy Cloner 2.1 ; Bombich Software , www.bombich.com ; free ( donations accepted )
Whether you ’re name a substitute or transferring your data from one Mac to another , Carbon Copy Cloner is an essential utility . Under Mac OS 9 , it was easy to move your organisation to a unlike ride or Mac : you just selected all your file and brochure and dragged them to the fresh drive or Mac . Mac OS X ca n’t be copied in that mode , but Carbon Copy Cloner does the job . It puts a simple interface on a serial of complex Unix - establish script . Version 2.1 includes several slick new feature , including the power to synchronize file , schedule musical accompaniment , and create bootable disc images of your drive . — jason snell
ClearDock 1.2 ; Unsanity , unsanity@unsanity.com , www.unsanity.com ; free
TransparentDock 2.0 ; Free Range Mac , kfk@freerangemac.com , www.freerangemac.com ; $ 8
ClearDock is a system utility program that remove ( or change ) the translucent livid ground behind the Dock . ClearDock requires Unsanity ’s app Enhancer , which allow the user interface for ClearDock through its System Preferences port .
In addition to removing the desktop , thereby making it depend as though your Dock icons were float above your desktop picture , you could specify a color schema and shift the color of the dynamic - covering index triangles . Used with the right background knowledge imagery , a decipherable Dock can be quite arresting . — roentgenium
TransparentDock lets you tailor-make the colour and translucency of pretty much every aspect of the Dock and change the animation that come about when you withdraw a Dock item . But it really shine at enhance the Dock ’s functionality : you’re able to prefer the Dock minimizing effect and speed ; change emplacement and pinning ; show background - only apps ; disable Dock floating ( so the Dock no longer float above other windowpane ) ; enable Single program mode ( clicking on an program hides all others ) ; enable unlimited hierarchical Dock menus ; and tot up Hide / obliterate Others item to program Dock menus and a Quit choice to the Dock ’s own selection menu . Finally , if you just ca n’t resolve which feature to use , you’re able to create preference themes and alternate between them . — df
hot chocolate Gestures 1.1 ; bitart , gerti-cw@bitart.com , www.bitart.com ; devoid
Cocoa Gestures is an amazing small diligence that allow you to use mouse move to perform actions in all Cocoa program , such as Mail , Safari , Text Edit , and many more . Once it ’s instal in your Library folder , you ’ll find a Cocoa Gestures item in each program ’s program carte du jour . trigger off it , and a screen allows you to define mouse movement and associated action mechanism for each Cocoa app . For example , you could attribute a control - click and an up - down - right field mouse motion to Safari ’s Show Bookmarks menu item , or habituate a controller - clink and a down black eye movement to close a windowpane . The possibility are dateless . — roentgenium
Coffee Break Pro X 2.1 ; Thomas Reed , thomasareed@earthlink.net , http://home.earthlink.net/~thomasareed ; $ 20
If you spend your working day at a computing machine , you may be familiar with huffy carpus , tight shoulder , and neck opening pain — or worse . Even though we jazz we should take regular break , many of us forget . Coffee Break Pro lets you turn for a set amount of prison term and then forces you to lie by blacking out the screen door . The computer program displays some suggested stretches for the duration of your interruption . If you ’re in the center of an awing cerebration , do n’t worry — a snooze button reserve for a delay ( although the catnap fourth dimension is taken out of your next work period ) . — df
DocJector 1.0 ; Monkey Food , feedback@diggory.net , www.monkeyfood.com ; free
Unmounting obliterable medium swallow up behind app and Finder windows has always been difficult in OS X. DocJector is the easy answer you ’ve been wait for : tick on the DocJector icon in the Dock , and up pops a menu of all mounted media ( CDs , DVDs , disk images , iPods , USB drives , and computer memory card ) ; select a volume , and it ’s immediately unmounted or eject . DocJector is so childlike and useful that we wonder why Apple did n’t admit this feature film with the O . The only thing keeping DocJector from getting a five - shiner paygrade is that it ca n’t unmount web volumes . — df
DockFun 3.7 ; Donelleschi , john@donelleschi.com , www.dockfun.com ; $ 20
DockFun allows you to have multiple OS X sorrel , each of which can contain unparalleled collections of apps and text file , and can be located at any of the received dock window placement . A floating windowpane identify the combat-ready bob and makes it easy to switch between the docks in your aggregation . The interface can be fox at first , but you ’ll quickly get the hang of adding and removing docks from your collection . DockFun can help you keep in line the size and complexity of your osmium Adam Dock by off - loading work to other docks that are send for upon only when needed . — rg
DropObliter8 1.0 ; Howard Oakley , howard@quercus.demon.co.uk , http://homepage.mac.com/howardoakley/ ; spare
single file - permit snafus in OS X can cause a host of thinker - numbing problems , such as when your Mac informs you that you do n’t have license to delete files from the Trash . Other times , the system says that a filing cabinet you demand to get free of is in usance , although it obviously is n’t ( aborted or uncomplete FTP downloads , for example ) . In either casing , only drag trouble file or folders to DropObliter8 ’s icon , and those pesky rogues will be gone perpetually — without any command - demarcation juju . It ’s a exclusive - function app , to be sure , but a gifted one . — jonathan l. seff
FileXaminer 1.5 ; Gideon Softworks , feedback@gideonsoftworks.com , www.gideonsoftworks.com ; $ 10
Among the myriad utilities that help you redact file entropy and permissions , FileXaminer stands out . In addition to an easy - to - function user interface for cut file permission and property ( let in advanced configurations such as pasty bits ) , it provides Super Delete and Force Empty Trash functions — approachable from the Dock , Finder contextual menus , or the program program — for getting rid of stubborn file cabinet . It also has a batch mode for working with multiple Indian file simultaneously , Finder integration ( 1 - alternative - I to get info or 1 - option - nose candy to simulate a file cabinet itinerary to the Clipboard ) , and systemwide funding for contextual menus . FileXaminer even lets you create and delete exploiter groups without make you delve into NetInfo Manager . — df
Horse Menu 1.6 ; nimatoad , nima@nimatoad.com , www.nimatoad.com ; $ 8
If you ask to know everything about your Mac at the touch of a button , Horse Menu is an amazingly informative utility . It provides a systemwide , customizable card that include detailed selective information about your Mac ’s hardware , meshwork interfaces , memory use , art batting order , USB and FireWire devices , jump on volume , loaded sum extension phone , and even unite UPS devices . It also lets you control all running processes , including force - foreswear misbehaving apps and setting lotion priorities . Finally , Horse Menu provides quick entree to system log , single System Preference acid , and common system utility . One of those utilities is Apple System Profiler , which , ironically , you may never necessitate to open again . — df
iAddressX 2.1 ; MibaSoft , info@mibasoft.dk , www.mibasoft.dk ; $ 8
Need to apace look up a phone telephone number or get an savoir-faire for a letter ? iAddressX display a list of your Address Book entrance in the menu bar , providing a cutoff to this entropy from any program program . It expose entries sorted by chemical group . you may opt which groups to include and specialize what info to show in the menu . Copy phone number or addresses to the Clipboard or glue them directly into the front - most app with a single clink . — robert ellis
iPulse 1.0 ; The Iconfactory , ipulse@iconfactory.com , www.iconfactory.com ; $ 10
iPulse is a life monitor for your Mac , displaying all of its vital organization information in a colorful , compendious ( and resizable ) , multipurpose , and fully customizable gauge . iPulse displays CPU activity , system load , connection bodily process , memory custom , phonograph recording usage , and the current meter and escort . You could get much of this selective information by typing the top statement in Terminal , but that ’s like getting a estimator printout to learn the speedometer and fuel gauge in your car . iPulse displays all of your vital information at a glance . There are other system monitoring equipment , but excellent purpose gives iPulse the sharpness . — radius
jEdit 4.1 ; Slava Pestov , slava@jedit.org , www.jedit.org ; free
jEdit is a software engineer ’s text editor write in Java . It has a number of great features for programmers , with syntax emblazon for more than 50 languages ( including Java , PHP , and HTML ) , limitless undo and redo levels , auto - indenting of source codification , and a full customizable port . Furthermore , an extensible computer architecture render feature such as substitute themes and tabs ( as in Microsoft Excel ) for opening multiple text file in one window through the exercise of third - party plug - indium . jEdit ’s feature of speech define and the fact that ’s it ’s devoid make it an fantabulous alternative to commercial-grade editors . — rg
Keyboard Maestro 1.2 ; Michael Kamprath , info@keyboard maestro.com , www.keyboardmaestro.com ; $ 20 ; Lite version , free
Keyboard Maestro not only provide you with a large keyboard - based software program whipper , but also pass on you the ability to automatize , via keystrokes , almost anything you could do on your computer . you could open files and folders , launch program , select menu detail , move and click the black eye , break away AppleScripts and shell hand , and even type frequently used schoolbook . A keystroke can also activate any compounding and/or succession of activeness . As a bonus , Keyboard Maestro provides unlimited clipboard , accessible via — you guessed it — keystrokes . ( The gratis Lite interpretation provides the same features but trammel the phone number of live Florida key , actions per live key , and clipboard . ) — df
Labels X 1.1 ; Unsanity , unsanity@unsanity.com , www.unsanity.com ; $ 10
Labels X is the reply to the question “ What happened to OS 9 ’s file and folder labels ? ” Labels X brings back about 95 percent of OS 9 ’s labeling functionality . Using the Labels X preferences panel , you may opt a colour and recording label definition . Applying a recording label is a simple matter of selecting one from the contextual menu . Labels X will also show ( and sort by ) the label time value in pillar - view Finder window , giving you the ability to sort your Projects folder by precedency , for representative . — roentgenium
LiteSwitch X 1.5 ; Proteron , info@proteron.com , www.proteron.com ; $ 15
LiteSwitch X is an software whipper for OS X. Instead of using 1 - tab to switch apps in the Dock , use it ( or another keyboard jazz band ) to activate LiteSwitch X. Once activated , the program set aside you to apply a identification number of actions to any open software . These action can be applied via contextual menu or keyboard shortcuts . The switch window ’s colors , transparence , position , and size are all easy to customize , and you use the program to control how windows carry when switching software ( in other words , hide all , shroud current , and so away ) . — rg
MacJanitor 1.2 ; Brian Hill , brianhill@mac.com , http://personalpages.tds.net/~brian_hill ; devoid
MacJanitor carries out unremarkable system - maintenance task according to your timeline , not your operating system ’s . OS X tries to persist these tasks in the middle of the Nox ; it seize the organisation will always be on . But if you put your machine to sleep at Nox , these tasks will never accomplish . MacJanitor put up an gentle - to - use interface with buttons for each chore . Just launch MacJanitor when you have a few minutes of free sentence , and execute the task of your choice ( or all project ) with a detent of a clitoris . — rg
people book 4.2 ; Amar Sagoo , asagoo@gmx.net , http://homepage.mac.com/asagoo ; free
At first glimpse , people book face very similar to Address Book , but people book includes some important features pretermit from Apple ’s app . It let you print envelope , custom labels , and lists . It also lets you use your modem to dial identification number — a enceinte time - rescuer if you make a lot of work - related phone calls from home or need to round up your Little League squad . alas , importing data requires that you drag your liaison from Address Book one at a metre . If you have a large posting list , expend Snail Mail ( see our follow-up , elsewhere in this clause ) , which access Address Book directly , instead . — r
Print Window 2.0 ; SearchWare Solutions , info@swssoftware.com , www.swssoftware.com ; free ( donation accept )
OS X is more advanced than OS 9 in many fashion , but you still ca n’t print a Finder windowpane . you’re able to drop a folder onto Print Center to get an ugly text listing , but that ’s about it . Print Window come to the rescue by allowing you to print the table of contents of any Finder windowpane via drag and cliff , manual selection , a key combination , or the Finder ’s Services menu . It locomote beyond the classic Mac OS by let you print all file information , just file names , just the current windowpane ’s message , a hierarchic listing of all subfolders , or icons . you’re able to even include your own customs headers . — df
PTHClock 2.3 ; PTH Consulting , info@pth.com , www.pth.com ; gratuitous ( contribution take )
PTHClock gives you everything Apple ’s menu - bar clock provides , but with a lot more control over fourth dimension format ; date format ; and font sizing , color , and dash . You also get a configurable , drop - down calendar , poop - hourly gong preferences , spoken alerts , and a date prick tip ( pass the cursor over the fourth dimension in the menu taproom , and the date floats over the desktop ) . The calendar feature alone is deserving a contribution ; with the clock options , this is the good menu - bar clock and calendar available . ( If you do n’t want two pin grass , turn off Apple ’s clock . ) — df
PTHPasteboard 3.1 ; PTH Consulting , info@pth.com , www.pth.com ; free ( donations accepted )
PTHPasteboard lets you manage an limitless numeral of Clipboard entries , and it excels in make them well accessible . you may paste the most - recent ten ledger entry at any time , via keystroke ; the rest are usable through the PTHPasteboard buffer storage ( via a keystroke , the menu bar , or the Services carte du jour in any Services - cognisant app ) . In accession to multiple clipboards , PTHPasteboard let you make multiple customized pasteboards that stack away ofttimes used schoolbook or graphics . For example , you could make one for personal information ( for pasting into correspondence , Web forms , and so forth ) , one for HTML tag , and one for e - mail service touch . Each can contain an unlimited numeral of items . — df
QuickVoice X 1.7 ; nFinity , contact@quick-voice.com , www.quick-voice.com ; $ 20
This voice record-keeper lets you quickly show notes , create stickies with phonation notes bond , or send recordings as e - ring mail affixation . Files are saved in the QuickTime format , so they can be play on Macs and PCs . QuickVoice ’s port is summary and comes with several attractive skin . you’re able to create as many as ten line , each check as many as 99 messages of any duration ( leave you have the disk distance ) . Audio Indian file can be disk hogs , but QuickVoice lets you change the sampling rate and choose from several compressor to adjust the size and quality of your files . — r
SmallScreenX 2.2 ; Loren Brichter , lorenb@mac.com , www.beaconschool.org/~lbrichte/lbsoftware ; loose
SmallScreenX expose resizable molding to sham dissimilar screen resolutions — helpful for Web designers who want to get an theme of how a page will look on different monitor . you could drag a border to resize a Sir Frederick Handley Page or type in precise dimensions ; then you interlace it in place . A card lets you select any open software and automatically resize the software program windowpane to the SmallScreenX dimensions . you’re able to save SmallScreenX margin as separate document file . This ready to hand , unchanging utility is free . If you need more control over covert measuring , try charlieX Screen Rulers ( see our review , elsewhere in this clause ) . — gas constant
Snail Mail 0.2 ; Nixanz , nixanz@nixanz.com , www.nixanz.com ; loose
Snail Mail is a program design to do one affair : publish envelopes from your Address Book . It translate the Address Book database immediately , so you do n’t have to spell your entries ( as you must do with the more full - sport masses book ) . you’re able to exhibit your contacts , sort them into chemical group , and filter them by typing a few letters into a search box . you could also impress a individual envelope or many envelopes for all of the entries in a group . Snail Mail let you initialize the gasbag to show or veil specific fields ( such as deed or company ) , and you could switch the typeface and margins , or even glue in a custom logo . — gas constant
Snard 1.6 ; Gideon Softworks , feedback@gideonsoft works.com , www.gideonsoftworks.com ; $ 10
Snard combines the utility of OS 9 ’s Apple menu with a rocket launcher and Root Runner ( the GUI equivalent of the Unix public utility company sudo ) to allow for a pliant do - it - all menu . uncommitted from the Dock , the menu bar , and via a hot samara , Snard tolerate you to habituate hierarchical menus to quickly access files , pamphlet , and applications ( for model , it heel System Preference pan out individually , like the older Control Panels menu ) . It also includes submenus for accessing recently used items , climb on favorite and recent servers , and launching worksets — groups of items that afford simultaneously with one click . Finally , you may easily open any program as root by option - selecting it from the Snard menu or by choose the Open App As Root carte item . — df
SwordfishExpress 1.0 ; buyolympia.com , www.buyolympia.com/software ; free
The United States Postal Service ( USPS ) vane internet site allows you to engender mailing label , but it ’s a bit of a hassle . SwordfishExpress take the posting and return name and address you enter and bring forth USPS labels for Priority , First Class , or Media Mail . If you want delivery or signature confirmation , the program also connects to the USPS entanglement site , obtains the appropriate trailing numbers , and then generates the expect legal community codification . Finally , if you play up a USPS tracking phone number and select the Confirm In web browser item from the Services fare in any Services - cognizant app , your web browser will provide the tracking info . SwordfishExpress keep you meter and money — you do n’t have to fill up out forms at a post office , and the USPS charges less for electronic labels . A nice characteristic addition would be the ability to lay aside ofttimes used addresses ; the developers call Address Book consolidation in a next version . — df
WindowShade X 2.1 ; Unsanity , unsanity@unsanity.com , www.unsanity.com ; $ 10
WindowShade X brings collapsable windows to OS X and adds slug , thanks to Aqua . Using WindowShade X , you could twice - snap on a windowpane ’s title of respect taproom to collapse the window ( as in OS 9 ) , or you could have the windowpane bout semitransparent ( found on a transparency level you set ) . you’re able to also supplant the minimize button ’s behaviour with window - shade doings . If you habituate the semitransparent mode , you could even persist in working in the windowpane in its semi - see - through commonwealth . — rg
Xounds 1.4 ; Unsanity , unsanity@unsanity.com , www.unsanity.com ; $ 10
Xounds bring an end to the silent era for OS X. Xounds admit you to import sure-enough OS 9 speech sound sets ( a contact on the Unsanity internet page leads to a sizable collection ) . Once you import a speech sound set , you see which actions will generate healthy effects , and at what mass spirit level the sounds will act as . you could also create an “ exclude ” list so that any listed applications will not have legal issue . While it does n’t give you all the options of OS 9 ’s sound set , Xounds does a great business of bringing back nearly the same functionality . — element 111
Xupport 1.2 ; Laurent Muller , laurentmuller@computer-support.ch , www.computer-support.ch ; $ 20
Xupport incorporate functions found in XII of shareware and freeware applications . It gives you the king to create bootable backups , optimise your web , browse out of sight folders , change SWAP single file locations , configure your firewall , set port wine for filing cabinet sharing , and much more — all via a straightforward port . You might be intimidate by some of the features Xupport offers , and it does go into the nitty - gritty of OS X. luckily , Xupport also has a very helpful appendix department with a wealth of Unix and universal Mac data . — anton linecker
Creative/Fun
Amadeus II 3.5 ; HairerSoft , martin@hairersoft.com , www.hairersoft.com ; $ 25
Need a low - cost two - track audio recording app for recording and cleaning up cassettes and L-P , or editing files you already have ? Look no further than Amadeus II . It supports 16- and 24 - bit audio in many format ( including AIFF , WAV , MP3 , and Ogg Vorbis ) at sample pace as in high spirits as 1,000kHz . you could well split album into track and even join several files . In addition to built - in effects such as standardisation , fading , and wakeless resort , Amadeus II supports the VST hype - in format — and you may download more than 30 free plug - indium from the HairerSoft WWW site . — jls
Audion 3.0 ; Panic , audion@panic.com , www.panic.com ; $ 30
Audion ’s pleasingly simple interface belie the robust program ’s many MP3 uses . Users can encode MP3s singly or in lot ; exchange between listening to standard candle , MP3 playlist , and remote audio streams with the pawl of a clitoris ; expand audio hunt to include the Web ; and set a time for Audion to begin spiel a specific play list — handy for hoi polloi who like their break of day routines to be set to music . grapple playlists now and again gets inept , and OS X users may become frustrated when they seek to install and ruffle Audion ’s applications and plug - ins to the right booklet , but this is a serviceable MP3 player for OS 9 user iTunes leave behind behind . — lisa schmeiser
Baby Banger 1.1 ; Paul Suh , plsuh@goodeast.com , www.goodeast.com ; free
parent of little youngster will apprise Baby Banger , which leave an way out for kids ’ natural predilection to smash key on mommy ’s or daddy ’s keyboard at inopportune times . When Baby Banger is running , every key your shaver smashes causes colored shapes to appear on screen ; the program can either speak the name and color of the shape or just toot . you’re able to select from several different color schemes for the bod , as well . distressed that your kids will figure out how to hit 1 - Q and wreak havoc outdoors of Baby Banger ? revere not : to exit , you have to typecast a shaver - proof combination : 1 - mastery - shift - option - P. — js
BarWare Deluxe 2.5 ; Digital Fried Chicken , Mitch@digitalfriedchicken.com , www.digitalfriedchicken.com ; $ 13
Throwing a cocktail party but ca n’t think back how to mix up a Melon Ball ? bewildered when a friend asks for a Honolulu Hammer ? Want to stomp your favored bartender by ordering a Pendennis ? BarWare Deluxe comes to the delivery , with instruction for make more than 750 interracial drink . you may search by type of spirit , mixer , or even garnish ( such as a lemon cut , tress , or wedge ) . BarWare Deluxe hail with a Bar Guide that admit common measurements , a gloss , and a drawing of different glass types . So the next time you necessitate behind - the - bar advice , do n’t reach for a book — fire up your Mac . — jls
BLT 0.2 ; Braxtech , braxton@braxtech.com , www.braxtech.com/blt ; free
charlieX Screen Rulers 3.1 ; charlieX software manufacturing plant , charlie@charliex.co.uk , www.kotarac.freeuk.com ; $ 15
charlieX Screen Rulers is essential for graphical artists , Web interior decorator , and software developers who ask assistance measuring or aligning screen object . It includes five different on - screen rule and measurement tools . select from a transparent screen - edge rule ( which you could set as the front - most applications programme so it ’s always visible ) , a dragging swayer with resizable vertical and horizontal rules , and screen - size templates ( which display abstract of standard or custom screen sizes , so you could quickly preview how your oeuvre will appear at different resolutions ) . you may also display mouse x - y coordinates or vertical and horizontal rule of thumb instantly on screen . — r
ColorWrite 1.1 ; AdaptiveView.com , support@adaptiveview.com , www.adaptiveview.com ; devoid
If you ’ve ever agonized over choosing colour for your WWW site , ColorWrite can assist . This puppet reserve you to pick out color with several colour models ( Web Safe , HSV , RGB , CMY , and CMYK ) and preview color combinations . good of all , ColorWrite can generate color combinations based on several different kinds of color scheme , including Analogous ,
Complementary , and Monochromatic . After selecting your palette , you’re able to copy CSS , HTML , or Java code to the Clipboard for use in other applications . — gas constant
Discus 2.7 ; Magic Mouse Productions , 415/669 - 7010 , http://magicmouse.com ; $ 39
Discus helps you create professional - looking labels for everything from CDs and DVD to business - bill CDs , VHS magnetic tape , and even audiocassettes ( recollect those ? ) . Although it have a very nonstandard substance abuser interface , Discus have the label - founding process painless . After selecting a recording label type , you select the output signal guide ( an Avery recording label act , for example ) , which takes you to the independent screen . Here you use five sections ( Canvas , Paint , Photo , Text , and Print ) to create and output your chef-d’oeuvre . With more than 900 gamy - lineament background signal useable , you ’ll be amazed at the timber of the labels you’re able to create . — rg
iSleep 2.3 ; FlyMac , flymac@ifrance.com , http://isleep.free.fr ; $ 8
iSleep adds a sleep function to iTunes and Apple DVD Player — set a timer , and when the countdown strive zero , your music or movie fade out and then stops . you could also choose to put your Mac to sleep , exit of your account , or shut down at the goal of the timekeeper . ( In the case of a DVD , iSleep can expect until the movie is finish before it puts your Mac to kip . ) iSleep can even act as an consternation clock , waking up your Mac at a sure sentence and then playing your favourite medicine in iTunes . The port is a bit offbeat , but the functionality is top - notch . — df
iStorm 2.0 ; Math Game House Software , mathgamehouse@mac.com , www.mathgamehouse.com ; $ 20
Need to brainstorm with someone in the next function or the next building ? iStorm lets multiple users collaborate on documents at the same time in real clip ( depending on their connections ) over a local area internet . iStorm apply Rendezvous , so no web configuration is required . Starting a collaboration session is easy : create a new text file and cluck on Host , and everyone on your LAN can connect in . Edit school text written document ( which can let in pictures , QuickTime files , and connectedness ) , draw on a blackboard , and chew the fat . The program also includes a calculator and a Tex par interface for doing serious maths . Export files to Rich Text Format or spare school text . — gas constant
iWork 1.2 ; IGG Software , ian@iggsoftware.com , www.iggsoftware.com ; $ 20
iWork is a timing , billing , and invoicing app program that ’s perfect for anyone who ’s self - use . Use the built - in timekeeper to dog study hour with time events , and add together flat - pace and quantity - based items ( such as expenses ) . iWork integrates with Address Book ( just add your guest to an iWork group , and they mechanically come out in iWork ) and iCal ( you may turn a deadline into a To Do ) . A Project Manager organize all of your projects and lets you see whether they ’ve been completed and pay . When you ’re finished with your project , make an account with your logo and custom formatting . — universal gas constant
iChatStatus 1.2 ; David Remahl , david@ittpoi.com , www.ittpoi.com ; gratuitous
Kung - Tunes 2.1 ; Adriaan Tijsseling , ado@kung-foo.tv , www.kung-foo.tv ; free
Some people are intensely private ; others enjoy living their lives in world . If writing a Weblog of your personal thoughts is n’t enough , consider these ingenious public utility . Kung - Tunes lets you revise your Web site with the name of the track you ’re currently listen to in iTunes ( as well as a tilt of lately played rail ) . It have customizable templates and the power to upload your files to a remote server via FTP . iChatStatus uses an undocumented OS tenner feature ( the one Jaguar ’s iChat menu item use of goods and services ) to constantly update the status barroom of your iChat session . By default , all your buddies will see what birdsong is flirt in iTunes , but you may tailor-make iChatStatus via AppleScript to display just about anything , include the app you ’re presently using or the temperature outside . — js
MacJournal 2.1 ; Dan Schimpf Software , dschimpf@mac.com , http://homepage.mac.com/dschimpf ; free
NoteTaker 1.1 ; AquaMinds , info@aquaminds.com , www.aquaminds.com ; $ 70
NoteTaker create a superenhanced electronic variant of the old - fashioned whorled - bound notebook . Using an on - screen turbinate notebook , you could create pages of text , sound ( including representative notes ) , image , uniform resource locator , and anything else you ’d care to categorize . Notebooks can have sections to assist organize your sentiment , and you’re able to work with a numeral of notebooks at once . you’re able to arrogate categories to and prioritise items in each notebook , and you’re able to create a special to - do section for task management . NoteTaker has many additional features for managing your random information streams , and its unique interface makes it easy to apply . — atomic number 111
If you keep a journal — or a diary , log , notebook , or scrapbook — MacJournal can help oneself you machinate your intellection . sure as shooting , you could practice TextEdit or Microsoft Word , but if you created many ingress in one long papers — or a young document for each entry — they would be unwieldy to delete , organize , and lookup . Create multiple diary in MacJournal , each with any number of entree that can be sorted by appointment , matter , or the first few language of textbook in a file cabinet . Encrypt and countersign - protect your work to keep it good from snoops . you could export your entries as textual matter , RTF , or HTML . — r
Meteorologist 1.1 ; Humongous Elephants and Tigers , fahrenba@ mac.com , http://homepage.mac.com/fahrenba/ ; free
There are a surprising number of OS X programs that look up current weather data on the Web and point the results in your fare bar . Although we like Glucose Development ’s $ 8 WeatherPop (; November 2002 ) , Meteorologist is about as honorable , offers a few unique feature film , and is free . In addition to display the current temperature and weather condition in your carte du jour cake ( with a drop - down menu have an extended forecast ) , Meteorologist can expose weather data point in the Dock and exhibit data for multiple cities at once . you may also customize Meteorologist to a remarkable extent , via a unproblematic tabbed preference windowpane . — js
MorphX 2.5 ; Martin Wennerberg , martin@orcsoftware.com , www.orcsoftware.com/~martin/ ; free
MorphX allows you to modify one image ( your quat , for example ) into another ( your hot dog ) over time , via a serial of merge images . The program use a two - pane interface , with the start paradigm in one pane and the end image in the other . After using pedigree to key out similar field in each pic , you set MorphX to forge . After a while ( calculating the range of a function can take some time ) , a serial of intermediate transitional images is create . If you have QuickTime Pro , you could save the series of figure of speech as a QuickTime movie , thereby animating your morph and make it suitable for sharing with others . — rg
MovieHouse 3.4 ; David Ahmed , davidahmed@mac.com , http://homepage.mac.com/davidahmed ; $ 15
The MovieHouse movie player lets you organize QuickTime movies into multiple playlists , so you may arrange your own curing of videos or preview clip before editing them in iMovie . you may take on the movies in sequence , loop them , or press the Jumble button to play them in random order . After create your movie inclination , MovieHouse can sunburn your collection onto a CD . It boasts one singular feature film not constitute in any other movie player : a imitation 3 - D movie gallery . A frame from each movie is exhibit on a rampart of your virtual gallery , which you navigate with the pointer Francis Scott Key . As you come on a movie , it begins to play . — element 111
PorDiBle 2.1 ; Rura Penthe , rura@utterer.com , http://pordible.ethelthefrog.net ; devoid
medal handhelds can be pretty coolheaded devices for scan text file when you ’re on the go . alas , converting files on your Mac into Palm - compatible DOC / PDB format can be a bear . PorDiBle converts text and HTML files to DOC files via an well-situated drag - and - drop military operation ; all you need to do is deploy the files on your Palm and use a DOC reader such as TealDoc or AportisDoc to scan them . Likewise , you’re able to convince a PDB file cabinet into a text data file by dragging it onto PorDiBle ’s ikon . — js
RedrawClassic XTension 1.0 ; InfoLogic , support@www.infologic.net , ftp://ftp.infologic.net/pub/others ; free
If you use QuarkXPress ( versions 3.3 through 4.1 ) in Classic way , you ’ve likely bump its redraw problem . This annoying microbe go out ghost look-alike in your document when you swap back and onward between OS X windows and XPress . you could sterilize the problem by collapsing or resize the window each sentence it happen — or well yet , you could download Infologic ’s free RedrawClassic XTension . The installer for this XTension ( which works for English , Japanese , and Korean versions of XPress , as well as Quark Passport ) automatically locates and instal RedrawClassic in any version of XPress on your system . The XTension runs invisibly in the ground , and in our trial , it eliminated the redraw problem once and for all . — kelly lunsford
SETI@home 3.0 ; SETI@home Project , http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu ; devoid
SETI ( Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence ) has been a groundbreaker in the manipulation of disseminate - computing techniques . SETI@home , which is uncommitted in both screen - saver and command - line versions , uses your Mac ’s unornamented processing power to research a huge assembling of radio - scope data for sign of the zodiac of alien intelligence . Once your computer has processed a batch of data , it sends that information back to the SETI servers and picks up a new batch . The idea is that , by pooling the processing office of meg of computers , SETI will be able-bodied to process data quickly and maybe , just perhaps , calculate out whether there ’s someone else out there . ingenious OS go tally - on SETI Menu 4.5 ( http://perso.wanadoo.fr/vigan/aksoft/ ) lets you control the bid - seam reading unobtrusively from the carte cake . — js
synergism 0.9 ; Wincent Colaiuta , win@wincent.org , http://synergy.wincent.org ; $ 5
There are many iTunes controllers and information display out there , but none do it all as well as Synergy , which incorporate the good features of other utilities and total a few of its own . It places playback controls in the card Browning automatic rifle ( include a menu listing recent running and playlist ) , provides systemwide spicy keys for playback and volume mastery , and adds a snazzy , translucent informational display that fades in and out at the start of each track ( or at your statement ) . You get full dominance of iTunes no matter what you ’re doing . — df
VLC media player 0.5 ; VideoLAN , vlc@videolan.org , http://videolan.org ; free
VLC medium player , which picks up where Apple ’s build - in multimedia engineering go away off , will be especially welcome if you ’ve ever had problems play files your PC admirer handle with simpleness . VLC is the most various video player available on the Mac , allowing you to watch file such as DivX and MPEG-1 , -2 , and -4 movies without a hitch — something QuickTime ca n’t easy do . And unlike Apple ’s DVD Player , VLC supports multichannel output , meaning that with the right hardware , you may employ a Mac to experience the full audio glory of surround sound DVDs . Although the interface leaves a bit to be desire , VLC is a boom for anyone who want to play many of today ’s popular video formats . — jls
ecstasy - Tunes 1.2 ; Pierre - Olivier Latour , info@pol-online.net , www.pol-online.net ; barren
X - Tunes is a “ remote ” controller for iTunes that let you to moderate the program without resorting to finding its window or using the Dock . X - tune installs as a preference pane and touch off with a user - definable key combination . When you press and hold down that primal combination , a translucent windowpane appears on screen , list the current song information , and providing ascendency for things such as degenerate forward , previous / next birdsong , and volume . Make change with your mouse , release the fundamental combination , and fall to what you were operate on without ever having to hunt for the iTunes window . — atomic number 111
Internet/Networking
Bookit 3.1 ; Everyday Software , support@everydaysoftware.net , www.everydaysoftware.net ; $ 12
If you ’re a connection developer , you undoubtedly use more than one web web browser to try out your sites . And World Wide Web developer or not , many of us use more than one computer . Either room , hold open bookmarks organized is a major scuffle . Bookit offer an splendid solvent to the trouble . Import bookmarks from eight of the most democratic Mac browsers ( including Safari , Chimera , and OmniWeb ) , set up them , and edit them . Bookit synchronize them by write identical bookmark files for each browser app . It will also synchronize bookmark on multiple computers . Bookit includes a System menu that list all of your bookmarker . pick out an detail from the Bookit fare to open up the link in your default web browser . — radius
CaminoKnight 2.0 ; Reinhold Penner , rpenner@hawaii.edu , http://homepage.mac.com/reinholdpenner ; destitute
ChimerIcon 0.6 ; Reinhold Penner , rpenner@hawaii.edu , http://homepage.mac.com/reinholdpenner ; free
SpeedChimera 2.0 ; Reed Martin , reedm@mac.com , http://homepage.mac.com/reedm/SpeedChimera.html ; gratuitous
If you ’re a fan of the Camino Web browser app , you ’ll love these three complimentary usefulness ( some names may have changed by the time you read this ) . SpeedChimera unlocks many hide Camino features , including the power to lug images from server other than the current Web page ’s , Favicons , HTTP pipelining ( which can increase functioning ) , web web browser history , and custom web web browser identification . In addition , you could edit any Camino druthers , and even add tradition preference entry ( such as those at www.efritz.net/chimera tricks.html ) . ChimerIcon lets you customize Camino ’s appearance by preview and installing new splash screens , icon themes , and preference panes . you’re able to create your own interface elements , and ChimerIcon will check the Internet for — and download — raw themes create by others . CaminoKnight is another pull ahead service program . The Camino web browser app is updated almost nightly , but it can be a fuss to constantly download and instal the in style adaptation . CaminoKnight automates the process by finding the most late habitus and then downloading and put in it . It even creates a stand-in of your existing version ( and has a restore command in case you live problem and want to go back ) . As a prissy bonus , if you ’ve already installed ChimerIcon themes , CaminoKnight will mechanically install them in the new version . — df
ICeCoffEE 1.3 ; Nicholas Riley , http://web.sabi.net/nriley/software/ ; spare
ICeCoffEE , pattern after the OS 9 annexe ICeTEe , is an O X wad - in that let you 1 - snap on a universal resource locator in most O X - aboriginal applications — in an Es - chain armour subject matter , a Read Me single file , or even a dialogue box — to automatically launch the site in your prefer Web browser app . 1 - alternative - click , and you may prefer another browser app or impart the URL to a bookmark handler such as URL Manager Pro . It even works in many Carbon apps . In addition , ICeCoffEE adds a Services submenu to contextual menu , and it allows you to tote up a Services menu to the carte bar — no more digging through the app card to access Services . — df
NetNewsWire Lite 1.0 ; Ranchero Software , brent@ranchero.com , www.ranchero.com ; free
If you ’re commonplace of surfing multiple sites and blogs each morning to collect the news program , NetNewsWire Lite may be for you . This newsreader will pull together substance from multiple site into a three - paned web browser app window , similar to Mail , with sites on the left field , headline at the top , and summaries at the bottom . ( you’re able to also get at headline from the Dock icon menu . ) NetNewsWire comes configured with several pop sites and admit a directory of others you may add with a single chink . ( If you know the RSS universal resource locator for a land site , you may summate a situation manually . ) NetNewsWire Lite can avail you read a lot of news sites or blogs quickly , and the $ 30 full version even includes a Weblog editor program . — r
Pop - Up Zapper 2.2 ; Batista.org , zap@batista.org , www.batista.org ; $ 20
Proteus 2.0 ; Justin Wood , proteus@indigofield.com , www.indigofield.com ; $ 10
If one of your biggest instant - message bugbears is essay to remember which buddy are on what specific message service and whether or not you may employ your instant - message lotion to talk to them , Proteus come in to the delivery with a slimmed - down app that permit you connect to AOL Instant Messenger , ICQ , Jabber , MSN , and Yahoo Messenger . Even good , Proteus lets you group your contacts by message service type , which add up in handy for sort out who ’s usable and how . Getting up and running is easy and intuitive . The only downside is that there ’s no out - of - the - box support for .Mac iChat accounts yet . — ls
Searchling 1.1 ; Michael Thole , mthole@purdue.edu , http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~mthole/ ; barren
Searchling is the ultimate habit - anywhere Google hunt cock . It lives in your menu Browning automatic rifle and give a small one - line search box when clicked on — for Google , Slashdot , eBay , and more . Enter your lookup condition and crush return , and your default web browser give up with the results . you’re able to make Searchling even more hefty by delineate a hot key to launch it , and determine the debut box to seem next to the mouse cursor . Now you’re able to search with a warm keyboard combination and no mouse motion . — rg
Spam Vaccine 1.3 ; Matterform Media ; 505/747 - 1220 , www.matterform.com ; lite version , $ 9 ; pro version , $ 19
This utility can save you a lot of heartache if you ’ve got a Web site with a band of Page moderate due east - chain armor address — the sort of pages that are harvested oftentimes by spammers look for new victims for their evil deeds . When you set Spam Vaccine on item-by-item pages or total Web sites , it rewrite all your e - mail addresses as JavaScript code that ’s not well processed by spammer . The Lite version can inoculate one Sir Frederick Handley Page at a clip ; the Pro interlingual rendition lets you convert entire sites at once . — js
partake My Desktop 1.2 ; Mike Bombich , dair@webthing.net , www.bombich.com ; free
VNCThing 2.2 ; www.webthing.net ; free
The Virtual web Computing ( VNC ) communications protocol was developed by AT&T Laboratories as a way to view and moderate a computer ’s showing remotely , across platforms . Any computer running a VNC server can partake its screen background with any other connected computer ( over the net or on a local web ) running a VNC node . partake My Desktop is an OS X - native VNC host that ’s easy to arrange up . If you want the server to run continually ( useful for tech support , or just supporting less computing machine - savvy family penis ) , it can even be configure as an oculus sinister X Startup Item ( so it will run in the background ) . VNCThing is a free node that allows you to see and control the desktop of any computing equipment running a VNC server . you may expend it in full - sieve manner or view the remote computer in a resizable window . you’re able to even create bookmarks to frequently accessed servers . The combination of Share My Desktop and VNCThing is like to commercial utilities such as Timbuktu Pro , but with few features and a much lower price ( free ) . The combination works surprisingly well — so well that this review was written “ on ” a background Mac , but the typewriting was actually done on an iBook . — df
SharePoints 3.0 ; HornWare , hornware@hornware.com , www.hornware.com ; free ( donations take )
Like adaptation 2.0 (; “ Mac Software Bargains , ” July 2002 ) , SharePoints 3.0 lets you create additional Personal File Sharing share points , create and negociate OS X groups , and customize the File Sharing server in OS X. However , version 3.0 adds the power to easily define share permission , create additional Windows File Sharing share , and customize OS X ’s build - in Samba ( Windows File Sharing ) server . you’re able to redact your Mac ’s workgroup and NetBios name , opt specific files to hold in from Windows users , and even squeeze Home directory to show up in Windows share web web browser ( usually , Windows exploiter must know the exact name of your parcel ) . — df
Snak 4.9 ; Kent Sorensen , kents@snak.com , www.snak.com ; $ 20
Long before iChat and AOL Instant Messenger , there was Internet Relay Chat ( IRC ) , a series of meshwork that allow tens of thousands of people worldwide to chaffer ( and even exchange file ) in any issue of themed channels . And one of the best ways to participate in IRC on the Mac is with Snak , which offers a light interface with docking windows , AppleScript and ircII scripting musical accompaniment , automated actions to react to a encompassing variety of events ( such as link a channel or accepting a specific file type ) , and best of all for those new to IRC , a great HTML manual . lookup , logging , and savoir-faire - al-Qur’an functions tally to the program ’s comfort of role , and a television channel - list window makes quick oeuvre of finding topics . And since schmooze is a global pursuit , Snak is available in 12 languages . — jls
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ROBERT ELLISis the generator of Handpicked Software for Mac OS X ( Futurosity , 2002 ) , and he guide the Handpicked Software entanglement land site ( http://handpicked.futurosity.com).DAN FRAKESis the author of Mac OS X Power Tools ( Sybex , 2003 ) ; find him online at www.danfrakes.com . ROB GRIFFITHSis the source of the forthcoming Mac OS decade Hints — 500 All - Time Best Tips , Tricks , and closed book of Jaguar 10.2 ( O’Reilly 2003 ) and the founding father of Mac OS decade Hints ( www.macosxhints.com).ANTON LINECKERis a video technical adviser and writer . JASON SNELLis Macworld ’s editor , andKELLY LUNSFORD , LISA SCHMEISER , andJONATHAN L. SEFFare Macworld ’s elderly associate editors .
Go to www.macworld.com/macgems to see an index of all of our Mac Gems look back .
