This is a subjective list of cool software for OS X compiled by these two criteria:
- First: It’s software I can recommend
- Second: It’s not very popular (with exceptions), so you might find some new stuff here.
Most software is donationware/freeware, if not noted otherwise. The prices might be different according to your country.
0xED
Hex editor which handles very large files, with good search function.
www.suavetech.com/0xed/0xed.html »
1Password ($39)
Okay, this is probably popular – but nevertheless so good that I have to mention it: A password storage which works with Safari, Firefox, Chrome (in beta) – it stores passwords, automatically fills in logins, creates passwords and can be easily synced via Dropbox.
agilewebsolutions.com/products/1Password »
AppFresh
If you know osx.iusethis.com, then you already should use this software. If not: This app finds your installed applications and searches automatically for updates (using Apple Software Update and osx.iusethis.com).
metaquark.de/blog/appfresh/ »
Baseline ($20)
Disk space checker: Very fast, detect duplicates and – very cool – lets you compare your hard disk usage agains a saved baseline.
www.mildmanneredindustries.com/baseline/ »
Devonthink Pro ($75)
Best document management/note taking/information database tool ever. Extremely fast and intelligent search, handles all file formats imaginable, great OSX integration and thousand other features.
www.devon-technologies.com/products/devonthink/ »
EasyFind
Nice and fast file system find with boolean operators, filename and contents search – if spotlight is not sufficient.
www.devon-technologies.com/products/freeware/ »
Evom
Convert movies, download flash videos – all with a very cool one-click interface.
thelittleappfactory.com/evom/ »
Facebook AdressbookSync
Syncs Facebook contacts with OSX address book, including pictures – nice.
danauclair.com/addressbooksync/ »
Facebook EventSync
Syncs your facebook events to iCal. Works flawlessly.
www.fbevents.net »
Facebook Notifications
Adds Facebook notifications to the menu bar, stable and good.
www.facebook.com/notifier »
fseventer
Filesystem observer – tracks all changed/created/deleted files on system level, for example to look what a software installation/update does. Nice graphical representation.
fernlightning.com/doku.php?id=software:fseventer »
Hazel ($21)
Rule-based tool to automatically keep files organized, integrated Application uninstaller, deletes duplicate downloads. Very powerful and saves lots of time.
www.noodlesoft.com/hazel.php »
iChm
CHM-Reader, the best one I found so far. FYI: CHM is a proprietary Microsoft format for online help files.
www.robinlu.com/blog/ichm »
ImageOptim
Image optimizer – compressing JPEG, PNG and GIF using a variety of optimisation tools, very nice to process your images before uploading them to a webserver. Often amazing results – saves usually 5-20% space.
imageoptim.pornel.net »
Integrity
Broken Link checker for websites with a good interface. And now can also create XML Sitemaps (for Google etc.)
peacockmedia.co.uk/integrity »
Porticus
A good GUI frontend for MacPorts.
porticus.alittledrop.com »
SimpleMovieX ($39)
Movie editor – looks strange at the first look, but is extremely capable and fast.
simplemoviex.com/SimpleMovieX/ »
SiteSucker
Website downloader/offline reader with lots of useful settings for different occasions.
www.sitesucker.us/mac.html »
That’s it for this post. I plan to extend this list in the near future. And you are invited to tell me if the one or other recommendation was helpful – or not…
Nice list. Been using sitesucker for a while, and porticus. Haven’t heard of any of the others. Going to try Integrity and Evom, they sound pretty cool :)
Nice job listing the price agains each one too.