4 Mac Apps that speed YOU up
Many people are obsessed with speed and I happily include myself in that category, at least with respect to the performance I get from my computer. Whether it's a faster processor, more memory, a quicker graphics card or a new high-speed hard drive, upgrading to the latest and greatest translates into getting things done more quickly.
It's not enough to just throw hardware at a problem, sometimes you have to optimize yourself. Of course I can do this by inhaling a rather large quantity of coffee first thing in the morning but what I'm talking about is finding applications that can improve how you use your computer. Though Macs have incredibly high usability right out of the box, over the last year I've found 4 applications that have really helped me improve my efficiency on my Mac. I've tried quite a few but these are the applications I've stuck with and found most valuable to me.
1Password
Like many people I spend a lot of time in a web browser (actually both Safari and Firefox). It seems that each site has a different cookie policy and password standard and each browser has different reliability when it comes to remembering my login credentials. You want to lose time during the day doing something that doesn't add any value other than challenging the Grey Matter to a memory exercise? Try remembering the username and password for every site that requires it. Think about the amount of time you waste when you try to log in and try every variation of a password you can think of, or waiting for a password reminder to come back to you in e-mail.
Then think about the repetitive forms with your contact information that need to be filled out and the purchase sites where you have to enter in your credit card details. Finally toss in those times when you need your frequent flyer number or child's social security number or application's license code.
1Password does a fantastic job of handling all of this for me. It plants itself in the toolbar of my browser and makes logging in to a site a one or two click affair. It will offer to remember my login credentials the first time I use it and then it retains it after that. Now when I hit nearly any form I can just tell 1Password to fill it out for me and it usually completes most of the common fields without any typing on my part.
Now that I have it synchronizing my 1Password data automatically through DropBox (which is a free service), both the Macs I use on a regular basis are current all the time. It is seamless and completely wonderful.
I realize I sound like I'm gushing about this application but it's one of those "you have to try it to appreciate it" types of things. It's also one of the few applications I immediately bought a family license for and put on my wife and kid's Macs. At $39.95 (single user) and $69.95 (family 5-pack) it's not the cheapest utility you can buy but well worth the money.
LaunchBar
I have a confession: I am a keyboard junkie. I'll use an easily remembered keystroke combination over a mouse movement every time. It was for this reason that one of the first features in OS X I became enamored with was Spotlight. The ability to hit Command-Space and just type in the name of something and launch it by hitting Return was excellent.
The issue was that Spotlight had some issues about the time I was starting to really use it and I ended up trying out QuickSilver. While QuickSilver was great I started to see some minor issues with it and at the time the author of QuickSilver was indicating he was walking away from the project (that has since changed I believe). It was at this point that I started playing with LaunchBar and I've been hooked ever since.
LaunchBar makes it really fast to get to the application I want, whether it's running or not. Command-Space (I moved Spotlight to Control-Space), type in a couple letters and hit Return. It's much faster than Spotlight and allows me to do more than just launch an application. It also learns my personal shortcuts so that when I want to launch Pages I hit Command-Space, PG, Return and it's up and running.
Since it can also use what I type to search my address book I can find a person by typing part of their name, then hit the right arrow button and select and e-mail address, press Return and I've got a new mail message addressed to that person and ready for writing.
I use Skype for my phone calls and have installed some LaunchBar scripts to control it, allowing me to just navigate to a person's phone number through LaunchBar and hit Return; Skype dials them for me.
Though I can get by with Spotlight on a Mac that doesn't have LaunchBar installed, my productivity takes a bit of a dip. LaunchBar is €24.00 for a single user version and €39.00 for a 5 user family license.
Spaces
I run lots of applications at the same time (right now I've got 16 running). Even with dual screens I like being able to arrange my application windows in a very structured way so I always know where to look for things. Spaces give me the ability to set up those work spaces and jump between them very quickly. The alternative is a bunch of windows that are either layered on top of one another or minimized down to the Dock Bar. I have found that jumping to a Space that contains the apps I need set up and ready for use saves me a lot of time throughout the day.
I've written quite a bit on how I've set up Spaces to optimize my daily routine. Though it's included in OS X and could really just be considered a part of the Mac experience I've observed a number of Mac users that never bother to. If you haven't already, give Spaces a try.
SteerMouse
Though I'm a keyboard first kind of person there are plenty of times that I switch into "mouse mode". Usually this is when I'm browsing through information on a combination of web pages, links from Twitter, and from NetNewsWire. This is when I want my mouse to be more than just a 2 button hockey puck with a scroll wheel and go for heavier duty mice that have multiple programmable buttons.
Logitech is my mouse vendor of choice and while I love the hardware they produce the Mac mouse drivers they put out have been horrid. Fortunately SteerMouse has come to my rescue. It allows me to define custom actions on all of the buttons on my Logitech Mx510 mouse. While I would prefer that Logitech make serious efforts to improve their drivers I'll happily pay the $20 for SteerMouse because it makes my mouse that much more functional.
So there you have it, the four applications I use constantly to optimize the way I use my Mac. How about you? Got an application that helps you perform at your peak? Drop a note in the comments and share.
It's not enough to just throw hardware at a problem, sometimes you have to optimize yourself. Of course I can do this by inhaling a rather large quantity of coffee first thing in the morning but what I'm talking about is finding applications that can improve how you use your computer. Though Macs have incredibly high usability right out of the box, over the last year I've found 4 applications that have really helped me improve my efficiency on my Mac. I've tried quite a few but these are the applications I've stuck with and found most valuable to me.
1PasswordLike many people I spend a lot of time in a web browser (actually both Safari and Firefox). It seems that each site has a different cookie policy and password standard and each browser has different reliability when it comes to remembering my login credentials. You want to lose time during the day doing something that doesn't add any value other than challenging the Grey Matter to a memory exercise? Try remembering the username and password for every site that requires it. Think about the amount of time you waste when you try to log in and try every variation of a password you can think of, or waiting for a password reminder to come back to you in e-mail.
Then think about the repetitive forms with your contact information that need to be filled out and the purchase sites where you have to enter in your credit card details. Finally toss in those times when you need your frequent flyer number or child's social security number or application's license code.
1Password does a fantastic job of handling all of this for me. It plants itself in the toolbar of my browser and makes logging in to a site a one or two click affair. It will offer to remember my login credentials the first time I use it and then it retains it after that. Now when I hit nearly any form I can just tell 1Password to fill it out for me and it usually completes most of the common fields without any typing on my part.
Now that I have it synchronizing my 1Password data automatically through DropBox (which is a free service), both the Macs I use on a regular basis are current all the time. It is seamless and completely wonderful.
I realize I sound like I'm gushing about this application but it's one of those "you have to try it to appreciate it" types of things. It's also one of the few applications I immediately bought a family license for and put on my wife and kid's Macs. At $39.95 (single user) and $69.95 (family 5-pack) it's not the cheapest utility you can buy but well worth the money.
LaunchBarI have a confession: I am a keyboard junkie. I'll use an easily remembered keystroke combination over a mouse movement every time. It was for this reason that one of the first features in OS X I became enamored with was Spotlight. The ability to hit Command-Space and just type in the name of something and launch it by hitting Return was excellent.
The issue was that Spotlight had some issues about the time I was starting to really use it and I ended up trying out QuickSilver. While QuickSilver was great I started to see some minor issues with it and at the time the author of QuickSilver was indicating he was walking away from the project (that has since changed I believe). It was at this point that I started playing with LaunchBar and I've been hooked ever since.
LaunchBar makes it really fast to get to the application I want, whether it's running or not. Command-Space (I moved Spotlight to Control-Space), type in a couple letters and hit Return. It's much faster than Spotlight and allows me to do more than just launch an application. It also learns my personal shortcuts so that when I want to launch Pages I hit Command-Space, PG, Return and it's up and running.
Since it can also use what I type to search my address book I can find a person by typing part of their name, then hit the right arrow button and select and e-mail address, press Return and I've got a new mail message addressed to that person and ready for writing.
I use Skype for my phone calls and have installed some LaunchBar scripts to control it, allowing me to just navigate to a person's phone number through LaunchBar and hit Return; Skype dials them for me.
Though I can get by with Spotlight on a Mac that doesn't have LaunchBar installed, my productivity takes a bit of a dip. LaunchBar is €24.00 for a single user version and €39.00 for a 5 user family license.
SpacesI run lots of applications at the same time (right now I've got 16 running). Even with dual screens I like being able to arrange my application windows in a very structured way so I always know where to look for things. Spaces give me the ability to set up those work spaces and jump between them very quickly. The alternative is a bunch of windows that are either layered on top of one another or minimized down to the Dock Bar. I have found that jumping to a Space that contains the apps I need set up and ready for use saves me a lot of time throughout the day.
I've written quite a bit on how I've set up Spaces to optimize my daily routine. Though it's included in OS X and could really just be considered a part of the Mac experience I've observed a number of Mac users that never bother to. If you haven't already, give Spaces a try.
SteerMouseThough I'm a keyboard first kind of person there are plenty of times that I switch into "mouse mode". Usually this is when I'm browsing through information on a combination of web pages, links from Twitter, and from NetNewsWire. This is when I want my mouse to be more than just a 2 button hockey puck with a scroll wheel and go for heavier duty mice that have multiple programmable buttons.
Logitech is my mouse vendor of choice and while I love the hardware they produce the Mac mouse drivers they put out have been horrid. Fortunately SteerMouse has come to my rescue. It allows me to define custom actions on all of the buttons on my Logitech Mx510 mouse. While I would prefer that Logitech make serious efforts to improve their drivers I'll happily pay the $20 for SteerMouse because it makes my mouse that much more functional.
So there you have it, the four applications I use constantly to optimize the way I use my Mac. How about you? Got an application that helps you perform at your peak? Drop a note in the comments and share.
Comments
I haven't tried LaunchBar yet but the new 5 version may have me take a look. It does allow for a very clean Desktop/Dock
Spaces- I'd use it more if I had more RAM. I have a 24" now and contrary to popular believe I think Spaces becomes even better on large monitors but to run multiple apps you need RAM. My next computer will have 4GB of RAM minimum and I will organize the ones I leave running into Spaces.
Steermouse - I will be using this when I upgrade to a Logitech Revolution MX mouse.
LaunchBar is an excellent way to augment and compliment Spotlight.
You want FAST? Mice are inefficient and SLOW. A trackball is FAST! Especially with 2 monitors.
I use a Kensington Expert Mouse trackball with Kensington MouseWorks.
One thing missing from the list is Default Folder X! It speeds up open and Save dialogue boxes and lets you assign favorite folders and MUCH MORE. It's well worth the $35 shareware fee! I'm lost without it.
Do yourself a favor and check it out!
http://www.stclairsoft.com/
AllBookmarks (free) adds a system wide browser bookmark menu. It works with any browser and can even combine bookmarks from multiple browsers.
http://agilewebsolutions.com/products/all_bookmarks
JABMenu ($15), adds a menu item that lets you search the Address Book without running it. It has a sub-menu with an A thru Z sub-menus. A real time saver!
http://www.jonn8.com/jabm/
Just saw it is on sale today at http://maczot.com too, you should give it a go!
It is quite the excellent addition to OSX.
@019: That's a good question and one I covered in a couple of blog posts. I tried Quicksilver first and happily used it for a while before switching to LaunchBar. Here is the background on both:
Adding Quicksilver to your MacLaunchBar as a Quicksilver replacement@Mr. Reeee: You're one of several people that have tried to convince me that I should give a trackball a "spin". Any suggestions on which to use?
Using KeyCue to show the Textmate shortcuts is both impressive and useful.
http://projects.tynsoe.org/en/buddypop/
For Spaces, Hyperspaces adds the ability to have different Desktop pictures for each space, so it's easier to tell where you are!
http://hyperspacesapp.com/
I use LaunchBar and chose it over QuickSilver because at the time, it seemed as though QuickSilver was in stasis and I hate whan an application or utility I get used to, suddenly disappears. Remember Concierge for Safari?
I'm a trackball fiend and have been using them since the first 2-button Kensington Turbo Mouse with a Mac IIcx. I've owned and used maybe a dozen different trackballs over the years, but always went back to the Kensingtons. Some people think I'm nuts for using one, but they're simply better.
My favorite is the Kensington Expert Mouse. There are several great features.
http://us.kensington.com/html/2200.html
1. The ball is large, so it's extremely easy to "throw" the cursor across your screen with one finger. I do CAD (VectorWorks) and use 2 monitors; a 1920 x 1200 and a MacBook Pro 15" (1440 x 900). That's a LOT of pixels to try and traverse with a mouse!
2. It's all optical, so there are no rollers to clean. I keep a small brush on my desk to occasionally sweep crud off the optical pickups.
3. The Scroll Ring surrounding the ball is Fantastic. You never need to reach for a scroll wheel. It's MUCH faster than a wheel, too, since you can keep a finger resting on it.
4. It has 4 buttons which are programmable and you can "chord" 2 buttons together for more flexibility with the Kensington MouseWorks software.
5. With any trackball, it's stationary, so you never run out of cable or desk space. It's space efficient, too.
The only negative I can think of is that learning trackball technique takes a little time. It involves resting your fingertips on the ball and pointing where you want the cursor to go. That's the advantage of the large ball, small trackballs are harder to use. There's also minimal hand stress, unlike actively gripping a mouse and having your hand in tension at all times.
Get one! You won't regret it!
(Gee, I wrote a short story!)
DefaultFolderX is AWESOME. Whenever I get on a mac without it I am saddened by what seems like a ton of extra time to navigate to a folder
Trackball - all the way. Besides being very fast - it save me wrist, neck and shoulder pain from the repetitive little movements - and it never moves. It is always in the same place so your hand can go to it instinctively.
KeyCue is great except for some reason it keeps crashing firefox on my. Not sure if others have this same problem. In updates they might have changed the launch preference, but before I could not change it.
Since you're an aficionado of Mac software, I thought I'd point you to an app I've released:
http://www.tech.com.au/
If you like it, email me at the support email address and I'll send you a free license as a thankyou for an interesting blog.
http://www.google.com/quicksearchbox/