Applications I Couldn’t Live Without In 2010

This is the fourth post in the “Applications I Couldn’t Live Without Series”. I began this series of posts in 2007, and have continued on in 2008, and 2009. Each year I recap the Mac applications I couldn’t live without during the previous year. Some applications have remained on this list for years, some applications have been replaced, and others have dropped off or been added to the list. Thank you to all the Mac developers out there who make beautiful Mac software. These are the applications I couldn’t live without in 2010, in no particular order.

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Video Monkey is my go to application when I need to convert video. Development of the application was very slow in 2010, but the project is still in development and it remains a very solid application. Any video that goes onto my original Apple TV is converted with Video Monkey.

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1Password continues to be one of my favorite Mac applications. It makes managing your online passwords incredibly easy. 1Password 3 added some nice features, including the ability to manage software license information. I’ve entered a number of my software licenses into the application. The 1Password iPhone App (iTunes link) gives you the ability to make your login information mobile, which has been incredibly helpful at times. There is also a iPad App and Windows version as well.

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Applications I Couldn’t Live Without In 2009

For both 2007 and 2008, I listed a number of applications I couldn’t live without those year. It’s now time to release the same list for 2009. Some applications remain unchanged from 2008, but a few have dropped off the list all together and a few more have been added. I’d like to say “Thank You” to all the Mac developers out there who make beautiful Mac software. These are the applications I couldn’t live without in 2009, in no particular order.

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1Password remains one of my favorite Mac applications. It makes managing your online passwords incredibly easy. I recently upgraded to 1Password 3 in advance of my move to Snow Leopard. 1Password 3 adds some nice features, including the ability to manage software license information. The 1Password iPhone App (iTunes link) gives you the ability to make your login information mobile.

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I still write every AMHQ post with MarsEdit. Not much has changed over the last year with MarsEdit, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Blogging with MarsEdit makes blogging easier, so I’m going to continue to use it. Alas, MarsEdit still doesn’t have bullet and numbered list support. Maybe it will happen in 2010?

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Applications I Couldn’t Live Without In 2008

At the end of 2007, I listed a number of applications I couldn’t live without that year. I recently realized I hadn’t updated the list for 2008 so I decided to do it now. Some applications remain unchanged, but others have been replaced or dropped off the list all together. I’d like to say “Thank You” to all the Mac developers out there who help make the Mac the premier computing platform today. These are the applications I couldn’t live without in 2008, in no particular order.

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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. 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. My one wish for MarsEdit would be bullet and numbered list support.

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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).

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In 2007 I used iBank to manage my household finances. Sometime in 2008 I switched to Cha-Ching as my Mac money management application of choice. Neither application is perfect, but I liked the UI and ease of use of Cha-Ching. Cha-Ching 2.0, currently in beta, improves the UI and a number of other features. There is even a Cha-Ching iPhone application in beta (I’m testing it right now) that will sync your Cha-Ching database to your iPhone. When both of these Cha-Ching applications are officially released, it will create a killer experience.

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Tip: Post Dating Blogs Posts In MarsEdit

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.

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

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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!

Applications I Couldn’t Live Without In 2007

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.

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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.

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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).

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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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MacSanta – Yet Another Application Promo

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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.

MarsEdit is Leopard ready

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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.