Apple Mac HQ

I’m a huge MarsEdit fan. While it doesn’t fill 100% of my blogging needs, it comes pretty close to that. Starting off with a new type of post category, I’d like to share a Software Tip for one of my most used applications.

The ability to post date blog posts can really come in handy. If I’m going to be busy for the next day or two I might queue up a few posts and have them ready to post online. With MarsEdit it’s very easy to queue up a number of posts and set them to show up at the time of your choosing.

Here are the steps to post dating your blog posts: Type up the blog post as your normally would. Just before you hit the send button, click the “Post” menubar item.

Choose Edit Date from the Post menu options. Change the date to whatever you want and click OK.

Click Send to Weblog back in MarsEdit and you’re done. When your server reaches the time you entered for the post date, your post will appear. I believe your blogging platform must support post dating but I would image that most popular platforms do (I’m using Wordpress). I know this may be a simple tip to many, but some users don’t poke around in the menubar options too often. This is a great option and I think anyone who doesn’t know about it would likely find it useful. That’s it for this Software Tip!

Popularity: 37% [?]

This wouldn’t be a blog without some type of end of the year list. So without further ado, here is my first end-of-the-year-list post on Apple Mac HQ. I have very much enjoyed my first year of using the Mac. I’d like to thank the developers of the applications listed below as they made life on the Mac great. These are the applications I couldn’t live without in 2007, in no particular order.

Blogging wouldn’t be as fun or as easy without MarsEdit. The ability to draft posts offline allows me to work anywhere and publish once I get online. The addition of the Media Manager in v2.0 made the decision to upgrade a no-decision. I love the ability to add new categories without visiting my Wordpress powered site. If you blog without MarsEdit you aren’t being as productive as you could be.

While there are a number of good ftp clients for the Mac, many of them aren’t free. I’m not a power ftp user and Cyberduck allows me to get the job done. Cyberduck supports ftp and sftp and has integration with Spotlight, the Keychain, AppleScript, and Growl. If you don’t want to spend money on an ftp client, give Cyberduck a try. If you try Cyberduck and use it frequently, consider a donation to the developer (I donated).

Caffeine is a one trick pony but it works like magic. When watching TV shows or movies, just activate Caffeine and it will stop your display and Mac from going to sleep. You don’t have to mess with your power settings, just a click to activate and a click to deactivate it when your done watching your video. Preventing your display or Mac from going to sleep couldn’t be easier.

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Popularity: 21% [?]

December is known as the season for giving. It seems that Mac developers are also in the giving mood this holiday season. First there was Give Good Food To Your Mac, next up was MacUpdate, now it’s MacSanta.

MacSanta works a little differently than the other two previously mentioned promotions. While the other two promotions are based on the idea that you buy multiple applications and get a good price, MacSanta is a little simpler. Each day MacSanta features a set of applications and you get a set 20% off those applications when you purchase them that day. You purchase the applications directly from the developers website and use the coupon code MACSANTA07. After the applications are no longer featured, you can still get 10% off the applications during the extended deals period by using the coupon code MACSANTA07TEN.

Check the MacSanta website each day or subscribe to the RSS feed to see which applications are featured. Today’s featured applications include heavy hitters MarsEdit, BBEdit, Yojimbo, and more. The extended deals include software from Rogue Amoeba, C-Command Software (Spam Sieve), and more. Stay tuned to Apple Mac HQ in the coming days for yet ANOTHER Mac applications deal.

Popularity: 12% [?]

MarsEdit, one of my most frequently used applications, has been declared Leopard ready by its developer Daniel Jalkut. If you’re unfamiliar with MarsEdit, it’s a great blogging client that truly makes blogging easier. MarsEdit offers Flickr integration, a very nice UI, compatibly with the most popular blogging systems today, and many more features. I’ve found myself posting significantly more often since purchasing MarsEdit.

In addition to MarsEdit, Daniel has given the Leopard blessing for all applications from Red Sweater Software. If any bugs pop up with Leopard, he’s stated he would address them quickly once Leopard hits shelves this Friday. If you rely on MarsEdit or other Red Sweater applications, go forth and upgrade to Leopard with confidence.

Popularity: 10% [?]