Michal Ždanský Did you find an iMac, MacBook Air or MacBook Pro under the tree? Then you would probably like to know what applications to upload to it. We've selected a few free ones for you that you shouldn't miss on your new Mac.
Social networks
Twitter – The official client for the Twitter microblogging network is also available for Mac. The user interface is very intuitive and the graphics are also excellent. Great features are, for example, an automatically synchronized timeline or global shortcuts for quickly writing tweets from anywhere. Twitter for Mac is definitely among the best Twitter clients for this platform. Review here
Adium – Although OS X has the iChat IM client at its core, the Adium application does not even reach the ankles. It supports popular chat protocols such as ICQ, Facebook chat, Gtalk, MSN or Jabber. You have several different skins to choose from and thanks to the detailed settings you can customize Adium to your taste.
Skype or Whatsapp – Skype probably doesn't need any special introduction. A popular client for VOIP and video calls with the ability to chat and send files in the Mac version. The irony is that Microsoft is currently the owner.
Productivity
Evernote – The best program for writing, managing and synchronizing notes. The rich text editor also allows advanced formatting, you can also add images and recorded sound to notes. Evernote includes several tools that allow you to easily save web pages or email content to notes, tag them, and then work with them further. Evernote is available for most platforms including mobile (Mac, PC, iOS, Android)
dropbox – The most popular cloud storage and file synchronization tool between computers. It automatically synchronizes the content in the created Dropbox folder and also allows you to send links to already synchronized folders in the cloud, so you no longer have to worry about sending large files via e-mail. Learn more about Dropbox <a href="https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1932/8043/files/200721_ODSTOUPENI_BEZ_UDANI_DUVODU__EN.pdf?v=1595428404" data-gt-href-en="https://en.notsofunnyany.com/">here</a>.
Libre Office – If you do not want to invest in office packages for Mac, such as iWork or Microsoft Office 2011, there is an alternative based on the open source OpenOffice project. Libre Office is developed by original OO programmers and offers all the necessary applications for creating and editing text documents, tables and presentations. It is compatible with all used formats, including the aforementioned commercial packages. Among the languages, Czech is also supported.
Sleep as an Droid – If you are looking for a simple GTD tool/to-do list for free, Wunderlist might be the one for you. It can sort tasks by categories/projects, and you can see your tasks clearly by date or a star task filter. Tasks can also contain notes, only tags and repeated tasks are missing. Even so, Wunderlist is a great organizational multi-platform (PC, Mac, web, iOS, Android) tool that also looks great. Review <a href="https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1932/8043/files/200721_ODSTOUPENI_BEZ_UDANI_DUVODU__EN.pdf?v=1595428404" data-gt-href-en="https://en.notsofunnyany.com/">here</a>.
muOrder – If you were used to a file manager type in Windows Total Commander, then you will love muCommander. It offers a similar environment, classic two columns and a lot of functions that you know from Total Commander. Although there are not as many of them as its Windows sibling, you can find the basic ones here as well as many more advanced ones.
Multimedia
move – One of the best video file players for Mac. It has its own codecs and can deal with practically every format, including subtitles. For more advanced users, there is a wide range of settings from keyboard shortcuts to the appearance of subtitles. Although development of this free application has ended, you can find its commercial continuation for a price in the Mac App Store 3,99 €.
plex – If a "mere" video player is not enough for you, Plex will serve as a comprehensive multimedia center. The program itself searches for all multimedia files in specified folders, in addition, it can recognize movies and series by itself, downloads the necessary information from the Internet and adds the relevant information, cover or sorts series by series. It does the same for music. The application can be controlled via a Wi-Fi network with the corresponding iPhone application.
Handbrake – Converting video formats is a fairly common activity, and one would kill for a proper converter. Handbrake has a long history on Mac and is still one of the most popular video conversion tools. Although it is not completely user-friendly, it offers an abundance of settings, thanks to which you can get the most out of the resulting video. Handbrake can handle most popular formats, including WMV, so you can painlessly convert your videos for playback on the iPhone, for example. If, on the other hand, you are looking for a completely simple and user-friendly program, we recommend it Miro Video Converter.
Xee – A minimalistic photo viewer that unlike the native one Preview will allow you to view all the photos in the folder from which you opened the photo. Xee adjusts the size of the window according to the size of the photo and offers a full-screen mode including a simple presentation. In the application, it is also possible to easily edit photos - shoot, crop or rename them. You can zoom in on images using a familiar gesture Click to Zoom. A big plus of Xee is also the incredible agility of the application.
Max – An excellent program for ripping music from CD to MP3. He can find metadata from the Internet according to the CD himself, including the CD cover. Of course, you can also enter the album data manually, as well as set the bitrate.
Utility
Alfred – Don't like the built-in Spotlight? Try the Alfred application, which not only can search across the entire system, but also adds many useful extra functions. Alfred can search the Internet, it serves as a calculator, a dictionary, or you can use it to sleep, restart or log off your computer. Review <a href="https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1932/8043/files/200721_ODSTOUPENI_BEZ_UDANI_DUVODU__EN.pdf?v=1595428404" data-gt-href-en="https://en.notsofunnyany.com/">here</a>.
CloudApp – This small utility places a cloud icon in the top bar, which functions as an active container after registering for the service. Just drag any file into the icon and the application will upload it to your account in the cloud and then place a link in the clipboard, which you can immediately insert into a friend's email or chat window. You can then download it there. CloudApp can also upload a screenshot directly whenever you create it.
Stuffit Expander/Unarchive – If we are talking about archives such as RAR, ZIP and others, a pair of these programs will come in handy. They have no problem with encrypted archives and will do you a disservice compared to the native unzipping app. Both programs are great, the choice is more about personal preference.
Burn Energy Drink – A very simple CD/DVD burning program. It handles everything you would expect from a similar program: Data, Music CD, Video DVD, disc cloning or image burning. Control is very intuitive and the application is minimalistic.
AppCleaner – Although to delete an application you only need to move it to the trash, it still leaves several files in the system. If you move the application to the AppCleaner window instead of the trash, it will find the relevant files and delete them together with the application.
And what free apps would you recommend to newbies/switchers in OS X? Which should not be missing in their iMac or MacBook? Share in the comments.
I miss VLC Video Player here http://www.videolan.org/
VLC is an alternative to Movist, but VLC on Mac is not as popular as Movist.
Why is there no mention of ICQ anywhere? after all, perhaps the official client can be much better for some.
You can also specify VLC and UnRAR X for me.
Otherwise, nice article.
In your opinion, how is the ICQ client better than Adium? It's robust, it only does ICQ and Facebook chat, and a lot of people have said it's one of the worst Mac programs ever.
precisely because of the simplicity and the support of only one protocol... it suits me completely... I don't have a single problem with it - it doesn't crash, it works as it should... but that's just a comment, it just stumped me...
I use trillion, which suits me quite well ;-) or I don't have a single problem with it.
I personally use LiquidCD for burning - also free. I will definitely recommend.
For archives, you should definitely use The Unarchiver, which is free in the Mac App Store.
Could someone advise me why, after installing muCommander, it reports the absence of Java and does not start? I thought I had it a long time ago. Thanks
In Lion, there is no initial installation, it is installed at the first Java request.
Do you have a suggestion for an app to convert music wav to mp3? If there is an extra one with an editing function (trimming audio tracks, etc.), I will gladly pay a few euros more.
Try Audacity, it's an open source project - http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
converts any music format to mp3, can handle several GB. ALL2MP3
I use xACT for music conversions. Completely free and has a lot of settings. Coding from lossless to lossy formats and reverse decoding. You just have to play with the settings. Unfortunately, he doesn't speak any Slavic-sounding languages :-(
VLC is definitely better than Movist and it's free. Updates are released regularly.
JB – Quicktime handles everything and it's free!
To convert audio clearly XLD
Winderlist is not GTD after all. It's usually a to-do.
From the "productivity" field, I also recommend to everyone:
1-Sugar sync-something like Dropobox, but better editing of folders, I suspect that zdrama is up to 5 GB of space, it works across all platforms and operating systems
2-Mendeley - something like Google documents, but an application for a computer or mobile, perfect editing and publishing capabilities, multiple people can work on one document, up to 1 GB, client content on Mac, PC or mobile is synchronized.
growl?
pix.AM?
opera/firefox?
skim?
wolf?
I am satisfied with MPlayerX for video playback. It is free in the app store.
Why Audacity for ordinary music conversion? iTunes can also create mp3s without any problems...
can convert to MP3, but not from WMA etc.
iVI is clearly the best way to convert video to a Mac format, although it is paid, but it doesn't cost much and it can do a lot of useful things. It uploads the converted video directly to iTunes, so you can watch it on multiple OS devices via Home Sharing, it also finds information, cover, etc. for each movie. It's just amazing :-)
You have the wrong Burn app link…
Hello, I would like to ask something:
1/ how do I change the language? (I do it by starting: languages and text and I put Czech as the preferred language and below I also select Czech and the same in the text tab, but only something is written in Czech, is this normal?)
2/how to write on the Czech keyboard abroad :)
3/ in which program can I print photos? (I have iPhoto installed but I can't print from it as I need, on Win7 I opened a general explorer and there I could choose what I want and since my printer is connected directly to wifi I have to choose on my computer if it should be taken from the main tray or tray for photo paper, etc... and I couldn't find any such on the mac)
thanks for all the advice. A brush
1) alt + spacebar
2) alt + 2
3) I have no experience with it
1) The "Language" tab determines the language of the applications. If there is Czech, English and then another in the list, the application will either be in Czech, but if Czech is missing for it, it will be in English. The "Text" tab specifies the aut. spelling corrections (for older OSes, a dictionary must be downloaded from e.g. the Open Office website).
3) Preview=Preview. Open the photo in the Finder and print it (Cmd+P). Next to the name of the printer is a small button with a triangle, which opens a more detailed, somewhat clumsy dialog, where everything can be set. (That is, if the printer is already activated via Wi-Fi.)
For those who have Lion, an excellent thing for managing applications in the launchpad. Also free
http://chaosspace.de/launchpad-control/