the .: fyr :. light

Application junkie – that’s me – well that’s one word that can be used to describe me (others are gadget-geek and internet-junkie, but that’s a whole other story for another day). If it’s new and/or cool or “perfect”, I have to try it out. I’ve tried out tons of apps …

• At least 10 twitter desktop clients (and a couple web and iphone clients)
• A few blogging platforms (Wordpress is my current choice and probably will remain so)
• Web browsers (I used to use Netscape – what does that tell you?)
• IM clients (I’ve used Miranda, Pidgin, Trillian, and all the native IM service clients as well).

Even after I’ve settled on my favourites, I tend to go back and re-test apps just to see if things have changed and in what way. I don’t always intend to switch from my current list of favourites, but sometimes that is exactly what happens.

1. AppCleaner

   With all that testing, I need to be able to cleanly remove apps when I’ve vetoed them from use and AppCleaner is free, easy to use and light.

2. Textmate

   A premium text editor, it has a multitude of uses and I like it because it’s simple yet powerful. I especially like it now since I discovered it lends itself to blogging quite easily via what is called a Bundle. Being the geek I am, I type in my blog post, adding the HTML where necessary, and upload it to my blog when I’m done. It’s a convenient way to blog without being dependent on either an internet connection or a web browser.

3. Notebook by Circus Ponies

   Yolospat introduced this to me less than 24 hours ago. At the time I had told her that I was perfectly content with Textmate and a new editor I had found Ommwriter, but now I am not so sure. I really like the way Notebook lays out your project and lets you see easily what’s what. The jury is still out on whether Notebook will replace Ommwriter (in particular) for my more serious writing projects, but I have to say that right now I am impressed.

4. Twitter client

   I must have a twitter client running at all times … or almost all the time anyway. (Right now, I’ve closed them all because the number of them I had open used up my 150 requests per hour allocation). Lately, I’ve been using Echofon for Mac, Socialite and Nambu a lot. I like Echofon because it’s simple and uncluttered – plus it has an iPhone counterpart that’s probably my absolute favourite twitter app for iPhone (another post there too). I liked Socialite because it was also a news reader and I could consolidate my reading and tweeting in one place – but it proved way too clunky and buggy for my use. So I closed it out and loaded up Nambu for Mac beta. Which I very much like, but it is missing a few key features for me – namely the ability see a conversation and sidebar links for the lists I am following. Next up for another test round: MacLounge.

5. Google Reader

   This needs no introduction or explanation. If you’ve got RSS feeds to read, Google Reader is the app to use. Granted it IS web-based and consequently dependent on internet connectivity as well as stability of the browser. Frankly, that’s not that much of a drawback for me because if I lose one or both, it just means I can close it out and go do something else. No great loss. It’ll all be right there when I get to log in again.

6. Internet browser

   This also needs no introduction or explanation. As an internet-junkie, this is like a hammer for carpenters. Currently, I’m using Google Chrome. I used to be a die-hard Firefox user, and a sometimes Safari user when Firefox was cantankerous, but I am thinking they both have gotten run out of town with Chrome. It’s light and fast and simple. I am loving the experience, but I am mourning the lack of use of my addons. Extensions for Google Chrome for Mac is not yet supported and so I struggle on without. For the sake of mention, however, 2 must-have addons? XMarks and LastPass.

7. Adium IM client

   I’ve tried ‘em all, as I said before. But I’ve settled on Adium -for better or worse. Frankly, I would remain and apple user forever because of Adium alone – it is that wonderful. (BTW: I notice the homepage shows you the current version being 1.3 – well the beta 1.4 is available for the adventurous with Twitter support and sometimes I revert to using Adium as my twitter client too.)

8. Mac’s native dictionary app

   – I read a lot, I am beginning to write quite a bit too. A dictionary is another basic tool that is absolutely necessary for this. I like the native dictionary app – as with just about everything else on a Mac, it’s fast and light and easy to use.

9. Skim – a PDF reader for Mac

   Thanks to @adriancharles, I was able to ditch Adobe for good with his introduction of this app to me. Again – light, fast, and easy to use. Can’t be beat.

10. Transmit

    – because every geek needs an FTP app.

11. Mac’s native terminal application

    Even though I’ve heard that Textmate has some terminal capabilities, and I have Coda installed, I much prefer the native terminal app for working on my webhost server and locally on my own machine

12. Evernote

    I like to have stuff at my fingertips from more than one location – my resume, shopping lists, recipes, wish lists … the uses are endless.

13. Dropbox

    And for another spin on the same theme, Dropbox allows me to keep documents synchronized between my iMac, iPhone and my Macbook.

And there you have it – my lucky-13 list of must-have apps for me. What about you? Any apps you like in particular and want to share?

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