A Switchers guide to recommended free Apps to download to your new Mac

VLC- A great no fuss alternative to Quicktime without having to add flip4Mac and perian.
Right Zoom- Make a lot of Windows switchers feel right at home.
It is something that I use quite frequently, and with expose and spaces, it works a treat when working on things like Garageband, while having documents that I have put together of song arrangements and lyrics open.
I also like having my browser windows open full screen too, and know that I'm not alone out there

I think AppZapper is pretty useful. This app deletes everything the app came with, example a .plist file. If you just dragged the app icon to the trash and delete the app, the .plist file will still be left behind.

wavinwayne said:

Cinch is a nice little app that I discovered today. Forgive me if it has already been mentioned. Basically, it works the same as Aero Snap in Windows 7.

Irradiated Software - Cinch

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Thanks for the app!! It is the single thing that I missed the most from Windows.

bmac_17 said:

Thanks for the app!! It is the single thing that I missed the most from Windows.

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Maybe I didn't make this very clear - Better touch tool does windows snapping for free. Here is the dialog box. You can also assign the snap to a gesture.



Speaking of windows management I forgot about Zooom2. It is not free but I use it all the time. It is how I am used to moving and resizing windows from linux - using a combination of keys and the mouse to move/resize windows. Plus it has magnetics for both resize and move.
Zooom/2: Window management for your Mac made easy

Plex - A Complete Media Solution on extra steroids. It can play almost any thing you throw at it. I think it is better than VLC.
http://www.plexapp.com/

Anyone have a suggestion for a alternative to WinRAR? Or is WinRAR compatible ?

declan27 said:

Anyone have a suggestion for a alternative to WinRAR? Or is WinRAR compatible ?

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The unarchiver is what I use - has support for many of the compression algorithms.
The Unarchiver
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/system_disk_utilities/theunarchiver.html

IvanLasston said:

The unarchiver is what I use - has support for many of the compression algorithms.
The Unarchiver
Apple - Downloads - System/Disk Utilities - The Unarchiver

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Just remember today (6th January) the Apple downloads site is supposed to die. Replaced with the App store. So yeah that  downloads site link will only be good for a few hours at best.

the8thark said:

Replaced with the App store. So yeah that  downloads site link will only be good for a few hours at best.

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On this ^^ when are we going to know its open ?? I mean the home page is still on the MBA and there is nothing that stands out to say it will open . . . Like the *Beatles* they promoted it weeks before.... I havnt heard a great deal on the opening of it ???
Any ideas anyone ??

TattooedMac said:

On this ^^ when are we going to know its open ?? I mean the home page is still on the MBA and there is nothing that stands out to say it will open . . . Like the *Beatles* they promoted it weeks before.... I havnt heard a great deal on the opening of it ???
Any ideas anyone ??

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http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/ap...sill-coming-late-6th-january.html#post1164615

The 6th in the US. The same time will be on the 7th in Australia. The Australian Apple site says the 7th.

Thanking you ....
Hope your ready for a re-write of this thread mate

Got a bt of work ahead of you lol

Yep I'm ready
I'll just need to get a consensus from the mods/other well informed members here as to the format/style the re-write should take. After that I'll need to work out if I can link directly to the App store. Doesn't matter too much if I can't. Then I can get busy on the re-write.

Here is the appstore link to caffeine
Caffeine on the Mac App Store

It seems like you have to right/context click on the app icon, or on the link up above to copy it. Right now if I put it in firefox it takes me to an appstore preview page. From there you can click on a link to see it in the appstore itself. Don't know how long that is going to last.

Thanks

I just wanted to take the time to thank you for your help. I just received my first mac yesterday and found this info very helpful. Thanks again

Thanks for sharing!!!! I wished I stumbled upon this before I for my mbp 2 weeks ago!!!

Oh can I add Apple - Downloads - System/Disk Utilities - Caffeine great app to keep my mac off from sleeping... especially when i'm downloading something or watching a movie.

cheers!!!

johndope83 said:

Thanks for sharing!!!! I wished I stumbled upon this before I for my mbp 2 weeks ago!!!

Oh can I add Apple - Downloads - System/Disk Utilities - Caffeine great app to keep my mac off from sleeping... especially when i'm downloading something or watching a movie.

cheers!!!

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Just be careful with that app.
If you forget it is activated and you store your laptop in a bag or something for any decent amount of time, it's a sure fire way to fry your Mac.
It also keeps the display on when it is closed....
End of the day I have many reasons to advise against using this app, so I say proceed with caution, as with any app that alters the way the Hardware and OS operates by default.

6string said:

Just be careful with that app.
If you forget it is activated and you store your laptop in a bag or something for any decent amount of time, it's a sure fire way to fry your Mac.
It also keeps the display on when it is closed....
End of the day I have many reasons to advise against using this app, so I say proceed with caution, as with any app that alters the way the Hardware and OS operates by default.

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I agree with this. Don't download caffine. Your Mac's system prefs has an option to let the screen go to sleep but not have the hard drive spin down. That way your screen won't say on for hours and you can keep downloading that large file. I use it on my imac sometimes and it works just fine. I dunno how it's work on a Mac notebook though.

I disagree, Caffeine is an app I like when watching a movie. You can turn it on and off so it's not like it's constantly preventing your screen from going to sleep. Click it to activate it when you need it. Click it to turn it off when you're done.

Caffeine does not prevent your Mac from sleeping if you close the lid or anything else like that. It's simply a way to prevent the machine's display from dimming or sleeping while the lid is open.

End of the day I have many reasons to advise against using this app, so I say proceed with caution, as with any app that alters the way the Hardware and OS operates by default.

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This description could be used for many of the recommended programs already found in this thread. That doesn't make it a bad thing necessarily.

Just like a sharp knife or a gun isn't inherently bad, a program that alters the way the Mac hardware reacts isn't inherently bad. I agree with schweb on this as well. Caffeine isn't the bad one - it is Insomniax that prevents OSX from sleeping when you close the lid. Caffeine just prevents the dim. Now insomniax is just another tool - and you can damage your Mac. It is the first time I overheated my Mac by putting it in a bag with Insomniax enabled. That being said I still use it all the time - but you do have to be careful, just like with a gun and a knife, and any other tool that could potentially hurt you.

I like caffeine for movie watching and presentation watching on WebEx.

You can set Hot Corners to stop the screen saver starting (System Prefs>Exposé & Spaces>Exposé. It’s under Active Screen Corners).