THERE was a time when Mac users could expect to pay a pretty penny for their software. That has changed dramatically over the years, with the entry of first-rate, open-source applications such as LibreOffice, Gimp and Audacity, to name just a few, which could be downloaded free. Apple followed suit later, first giving away updates of its OS X operating system then its iWork productivity suite, not as open source, but certainly for free.
This week, we look not at full-blown applications but utilities that can save you quite a bit of time and make your Mac even easier to use. Here are some free gems that Mac users would do well to consider.
AppCleaner (http://www.freemacsoft.net/appcleaner/) is a utility that enables you to thoroughly uninstall unwanted apps. Installing an application distributes many files throughout your system that take up space on your hard drive. AppCleaner finds all these small files and safely deletes them. To use, simply drop an application into the AppCleaner window and click the delete button.
CleanMyDrive (in the App Store) is a free utility that reclaims free space and cleans junk from external hard disks and flash drives. The utility also shows you all the drives connected to your Mac in one dropdown menu, enabling you to eject the drives you no longer need to use.
ClipMenu (www.clipmenu.com) is a clipboard manager that keeps track of what you’ve cut or copied and enables you to paste up to eight types of data, from plain text to images. To paste a recorded item, pop up a menu by invoking the shortcut key and select an item from the menu. You can also use ClipMenu to paste snippets of frequently used text (like e-mail addresses) to save time and typing.
Duplicate Detector (in the App Store) lets you recover valuable hard drive space by deleting unnecessary duplicate files. The free version stops at the first 10 results. You can unlock the full version by paying 99 cents.
MagiCal (http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/magical) is a free menu-based clock and calendar utility that shows you a montly calendar when you click on its icon in the menu bar. A nifty feature is the ability to “tear off” the calendar and move it around on your desktop. Along the same lines, Day-0 (http://www.shauninman.com/archive/2011/10/20/day_o_mac_menu_bar_clock) is a simple calendar replacement for the menu bar clock that displays a tiny calendar when its icon is clicked.
MailTab for Gmail (available from the App Store) enables you to quickly check, read and even reply to messages on your Gmail accounts without using a browser or a mail program. The tiny Gmail icon on the menu tray lights up whenever new mail comes in. Click on the icon to read your e-mail on the dropdown panel.
Memory Clean (available from the Mac App Store) optimizes your Mac’s memory and is best used after you have finished using a memory-intensive program or game. When the program is activated, it sits on the menu bar displaying the free memory you have at the moment. The utility comes from FIPLAB Ltd., which also makes the excellent MailTab for Gmail.
NameChanger (http://mrrsoftware.com/namechanger/) is a free Mac app that lets you quickly rename a group of files all at once, which is particularly useful with images from a digital camera. Rename a series of photos from your pal’s wedding from IMG_2002 to something more meaningful, like BITESTHEDUST.
Skitch (in the App Store) is a screen capture utility that also enables you to mark up and annotate your captured images. You can save the screen caps locally, share them through e-mail, Twitter or Facebook, or save them on the note-taking application Evernote (which also makes Skitch).
The Unarchiver (in the App Store) is a small and easy-to-use program that can unarchive many different kinds of archive files. It will open common formats such as Zip, RAR, 7-zip, Tar, Gzip and Bzip2. It will also open many older formats, such as StuffIt, DiskDoubler, LZH, ARJ and ARC. It will even open other kinds of files, like ISO and BIN disc images. Chin Wong
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