5 Mac OS X Apps I cannot do without

Two days from now, I complete 8 awesome months of using a Mac. My Mac Mini has been one of the two best purchases I’ve made, the second being my iPhone. These eight months have made me realize what I’ve been missing all these years and that there’s more to computing than viruses and BSODs.

No matter what kind of task it may be, doing it on a Mac is so much simpler and yet better. Everything in Mac OS X is so well thought out and implemented. And then came along Mac OS 10.5 Leopard which was like the icing on the cake. This version of Mac OS X brought along some super-useful features and one of them being the super awesome ‘Quick Look’.

However, this post is not about the OS but rather, some great apps written for the OS that completely blow you away. Here’s my list of 5 Mac OS X apps that I just can’t do without.

1. MailPlane: MailPlane is a SSB ( Site Specific Browser ) for GMail. The app combines the features of Gmail with the friendliness a Mac by offering some nifty features such as (a) Drag and Drop attachment of files, (b) Attaching pics right from iPhoto, (c) Multiple Gmalil accounts, (d) Growl Notifications, (e) Same Gmail keyboard shortcuts and many other features. MailPlane also lets you set labels to your messages on the fly. There is also a OmniFocus plugin that lets your create tasks right from your conversations. I’ve been trying the latest beta releases too and I must say, the app looks really promising.

Grab the demo here, or buy the app here. There is also a family option available and a special discount if you’re a student.

2. NetNewsWire: Web based RSS readers ( a la Google Reader ) may be good, but RSS is something that is meant to come to you instead of you going to it. And nothing beats a RSS feed reader app as NetNewsWire. Brought to you by NewsGator, not only does it brings you RSS feeds that you have subscribed too, but the app gives you the option to synchronize the feeds with the online newsgator account, so pretty much like IMAP, you can have feeds on multiple computers. Not just that, NewsGator also has a web interface to read the feeds and an iPhone interface for the lucky dogs with an iPhone. There is also a ‘Send to Weblog’ button which, after you’ve set up your blog, sends a summary of the feed you’re reading to your blog.

NetNewsWire is a free download. The windows counterpart is called FeedDemon.

3. Coda: The developers call this the ‘One-Window Web Developement’ tool for Mac OS X. Coda combines the features of a coding-standards aware text-editor, a FTP app, a CSS Editor, the Terminal and books all into a single app. Coda also lets you set up your sites and shows a cool thumbnail preview of the same when you launch the app. Almost all my web development work is done using Coda. I say almost because I also happen to use TextMate.

Grab the demo(Direct Link) or go buy it right away..

4. Twitterrific: This is the most popular app for twitter and rightly so. With simple shortcuts such as Cmd+2 and Cmd+D, who wouldn’t want to use twitter. There’s an iPhone version coming this June 11th too. The little blue bird chirps everytime you receive new tweets. You can embed your @replies and Direct Messages into the timeline. It displays ads in between tweets every 20 minutes and if you purchase the app, you can wave goodbye to the ads.

Twitterrific is available here.

5. Front Row: There’s no better way to spend a day watching movies by sitting on your favorite couch, sipping onto your favorite drink, crunching onto some chips or some delicious popcorn and a tiny remote in your hand that gives you the control of your HTPC. Front Row comes built into the OS and is a must-use if you have a HDTV.

Special Mention: MarsEdit

MarsEdit is a desktop blogging app that lets you write, draft and publish your blog posts right from your Mac. Say goodbye to the slow, clumsy web interfaces that require your to be online. MarsEdit features flickr integration and a convenient way to upload files right through it to your server. Almost all of my blogposts in the past 8 months have been through MarsEdit. I’ve lost my drafts, many a times, because the connection dropped while I using the blog’s web interface, but with MarsEdit I can put my brains where I need them.

I’d love to hear about your fav. app ? Do you have any ?

Tagged as: Apple, apps, coda, gmail, leopard, mac, mailplane, twitter, twitterrific