The Best Mac Apps ...

The      Best       Mac        Apps

Audio

  ScrobblePod
Last.fm scrobbler that handles songs played in iTunes and on your iOS devices.
Download | Full review 

  Max
Max is an easy to use audio converter that supports over 20 audio formats
Download | Full review

Spotify
Instantly listen to over 15 million tracks online and sync them to your iPod.
Download | Full review

  Breakaway
Pull out your headphones, and iTunes pauses. Plug it back in, and it starts again.
Download | Full review 

  X Lossless Decoder
Decode/convert various lossless audio file formats including FLAC, Apple Lossless, Monkey’s Audio, etc.
Download

Audacity
Open sources, cross-platform audio editor. Must have for amateur musicians.
Download | Full review 

  Songbird
Alternative music player and library manager.
Download | Full review

  Vox
A lightweight alternative music player for OS X.
Download | Full review

Tomahawk
Manage all of your music services with one simple app.
Download | Full review

 

Browsing Aids

Google Chrome
A lightweight, fast browser. Great alternative to Safari.
Download

  Firefox
For Firefox fans who can’t live without it.
Download 

 

  Opera
The only popular browser for Mac that’s available on the Mac App Store.
Download

 

Hotspot Shield
Utility to secure your browsing sessions and prevent identity theft or bypass restrictions.
Download | Full review 

  CCleaner
Finally the Mac version of the essential CCleaner for Windows.
Download | Full review




Dashboard Widgets

Delivery Status
Delivery tracker that alerts you when your package clears custom or is on the delivery truck!
Download | Full review 

  CurrencyConverter
One of the best currency converter widgets for Mac OS X. Updated frequently.
Download 

  iStat Pro
Highly configurable system monitor widget. Reports CPU, memory, disk, network usages; temperature; uptime, etc.
Download

 

The Weather Channel Widget
All the weather information you need right on your Dashboard. Check it out.
Download 

  Countdown Dashboard widget
Set the date and time for any event and it will show you how much time you have left.
Download | Full review

  Symbol Caddy
Can’t seem to find the Euro currency symbol? Symbol Caddy provides access to all special characters.
Download | Full review



Featured



SyncMate Expert
Keep all of your devices and computers in sync. $39.95 (free version available)
Download | Full review | Redeem

  Paragon NTFS
Read and write to NTFS-formatted hard drives (like external hard drives used on Windows computer). $19.95
Download | Full review | Redeem

 

FX Photo Studio Pro
Photo editing suite with 73 high-quality editing effects, 40 frames and 20 editing tools. $39.99
Download | Redeem

 

Postbox
The perfect desktop email client. Adds loads of features like labels, canned responses, third-party app integration, more. $29.95
Download | Full review | Redeem 

deskPDF Creator 2012
Create new PDFs, convert to PDF, watermark and lock PDF documents. $34.99
Download | Redeem




Email Clients


Postbox
The perfect desktop email client. Adds loads of features like labels, canned responses, third-party app integration, more. $29.95
Download | Full review 

Mozilla Thunderbird
If Mail isn’t good enough, try Thunderbird.
Download | Full review 

Gmail Notifier
Menubar app that alerts you when you have new Gmail message or upcoming GCal events.
Download

Notify
Even though it’s no longer in development, Notify is an elegant menubar mail notification app.
Download | Full review 

  Sparrow
Minimal email client designed to keep things simple and efficient. $9.99
Download | Full review





Photos/Images


SketchBook Express
Free, professional-grade drawing application for Mac.
Download 

  Pixelmator
Great Photoshop alternative. Extremely capable and easy to use. $29.99
Download | Full review 

  Skitch
Skitch helps you to create screenshots and add annotations, then share it with friends.
Download | Full review

 
Paparazzi!
A useful tool to take screenshots of webpages.
Download | Full review 

  Hugin
Free panorama photo stitcher, assembles a mosaic of photos into a series of overlapping pictures.
Download

 

  HDRtist
Create HDR images easily and simply from multiple images with different exposures.
Download

 

Inkscape
Open source vector graphics editor similar to Illustrator. Uses the SVG file format.
Download | Full review 

  GraphicConverter
A fantastic, affordable photo editor that offers many of the features of the big boys. $39.95
Download





News



Fresh Feed
Fresh and light menubar feed reader.
Download 

  NetNewsWire Lite
Light RSS and Atom feed reader. Comaptible with Instapaper, Twitter, MarsEdit, etc.
Download 

  Pocket
An awesome way to read things from the web later.
Download | Full review

Vienna
A fantastic, open-source RSS reader.
Download



Others


Paragon NTFS
Read and write to NTFS-formatted hard drives (like external hard drives used on Windows computer). $19.95
Download | Full review 

  Transmission
The ultimate torrent downloader for Mac.
Download | Full review 

 

Prey
Open source anti-theft solution. Tracks your stolen laptop’s position, photographs the thief, and much more.
Download | Full review

 

 

Cyberduck
Open source FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, Google Storage and Amazon S3 browser for Mac.
Download 

  iAlertU
Uses the MacBook’s Sudden Motion Sensor to trigger an alarm when your MacBook is touched or moved.
Download 

  teleport
Seamlessly control multiple Macs with a single keyboard and mouse.
Download

 

f.lux
Cross-platform app that automatically tweaks the colour of your screen to suit the time of day.
Download | Full review 

  DiskWave
Free utility to determine which files and folders consume the most disk space.
Download 

Mactracker
Get detailed specifications of every Mac ever made.
Download | Full review

 

Transmit
Superb FTP client that also supports SFTP, WebDAV, Amazon S3 file transfers. $35.99
Download 

  ClamXav
A free virus scanner based on the ClamAV open source antivirus engine.
Download | Full review 

  Stellarium
A free planetarium right in your Mac.
Download | Full review

Flutter
Control your media with gestures using a webcam.
Download

 

Productivity


TextExpander
The best solution for text substitution. Syncs with Dropbox if you have multiple copies. $34.95
Download 

  Evernote
Jot your ideas, memories and thoughts and bring them with you.
Download | Full review 

  Wunderlist
The desktop client for the one and only Wunderlist.
Download | Full review

Anxiety
Another great, super lightweight to-do list manager. Syncs with iCal and Mail.
Download | Full review 

  Bean
Free, easy to use word processor. Reads MS Word and OpenOffice documents.
Download

  WriteRoom
Distraction-free, full screen writing environment.
Download

TextWrangler
Much better text editor than TextEdit. Supports syntax colouring and advance search functions.
Download 

Stuf
The ultimate clipboard manager. Supports clipboard sharing over network. $24.99
Download 

  LibreOffice
Alternative, free office suite.
Download | Full review

 

Quicksilver
Resurrected, Quicksiler is the best Mac launcher and time saver you’ll ever need.
Download 

  Dropbox
Sync and share files with other Dropbox users or mobile devices.
Download | Articles 

  SugarSync
Dropbox alternative that allows you to sync any folder. Provides a free 5 GB account upon subscription.
Download | Full review

Do Something When
System preference pane that allows the user to watch for certain events and invoke an automated response.
Download 

Notational Velocity
Store notes, thoughts and data securely. Syncs with Dropbox and Simplenote. Open source.
Download | Full review 

  Think
Block out distractions with you’re trying to concentrate.
Download

 

Desktop Curtain
Temporarily hide the clutter on your desktop. $4.99
Download 

Alfred
Saves you time searching your desktop and the web. Launch your apps with shortcuts.
Download | Full review 

  CloudApp
Drop images, links, music, videos and files from your desktop to share them.
Download | Full review

 

Keynote
Create incredible presentations and slideshows with dazzling effects. $19.99
Download






For Switchers

Parallels Desktop
Easy to use virtualisation app. Allows you to run Windows and Mac OS X simultaneously. $79.99
Download | Full review

  VMware Fusion
Another great virtualisation application. $79.99
Download 

 

  Virtualbox
Open source, cross platform virtualisation software. Not as easy to use as Parallels or VMware but is free.
Download | Full review

 

WineBottler
Run Windows apps on OS X without installing Windows.
Download | Full review 

  Microsoft Office for Mac
Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, and Excel included in the Home & Student suite. $149.99
Download

  Wineskin
Make wrappers to run Windows software on Mac OS X.
Download






Social


Adium
Customisable, themeable, multiprotocol instant messenger.
Download | Full review

   Twitter
Follow your friends’ tweets and send out your blurts from the desktop.
Download | Full review

  Skype
Essential application, especially useful for long-distance teleconferencing.
Download






Utilities


SyncMate Expert
Keep all of your devices and computers in sync. $39.95 (free version available)
Download | Full review 

The Unarchiver
Unarchiver works with just about any type of compressed file.
Download | Full review 

MenuMeters
A complete set of CPU, memory, disk and network monitoring tools.
Download

 

Little Snitch
Control and administer connectivity privileges for each of your applications. $29.95
Download 

Caffeine
Temporarily prevents your Mac from automatically going to sleep or initiating the screensaver.

Download | Full review 

AppCleaner
Completely removes all preference and system files when uninstalling apps.
Download | Full review

 

OnyX
Enables you to configure and tweak hidden parameters of OS X.
Download 

1Password
Great password manager that automatically stores and retrieves online passwords. $39.99
Download | Full review 

  Burn
A free and better solution to Mac OS X’s innate DVD recording feature.
 Download

 

Carbon Copy Cloner
Easily create and backup bootable images of your hard drive in case it crashes. $39.95
Download | Full review 

Keyboard Cleaner
Handy application that temporarily disables your keyboard and mouse, allowing you to wipe it clean.
Download | Full review 

BetterTouchTool
Adds configurable gestures to your Magic Mouse and Magic TrackPad.
Download | Full review

 

Secrets
A database of hidden settings for Mac OS X. More user friendly than OnyX.
Download | Full review 

Lab Tick
Control the brightness of your MacBook Pro’s backlit keyboard. 

Download 

Hazel
Create folder rules to automatically organise files and run tasks. $21.95
Download | Full review

 

Monolingual
Removes unnecessary languages from your applications, saving disk space.
Download

  Drop Copy
The easiest way to send files across your internet network.
Download

  RPN scientific
Easy to use scientific and RPN calculator for your Mac.
Download

 

AppFresh
Easily keep all of your applications up to date on your Mac.
Download | Full review 

ixPaste
Brings the default copy and paste to another level.
Download 

  Geektool
Display various kinds of information on your desktop in beautiful ways.
Download | Full review

 

Growl
Better notifications for just about any system event.
Download | Full review

  iPartition
Easily create and manage partions on your Mac.
Download

  CleanMyMac
Keep your Mac running in tip-top shape with one program. Demo version limits cleaning to 500MB. $29.95
Download | Full review

  

DaisyDisk
Disk analyzer tool that visualizes hard disk usage and allows you to free up hard disk space. A trial version is available. $9.99
Download | Full review 

deskPDF Creator 2012
Create new PDFs, convert to PDF, watermark and lock PDF documents. $34.99
Download

 

Bartender
Organize and take control of your Mac menu bar. $15
Download | Full review





Video Tools

VLC Media Player
The best cross-platform multimedia player. Ever.
Download | Full review 

MPlayerX
Strong contender for VLC Player. Plays almost any media format, sleek user interface.
Download 

Handbrake
The best open source, multiplatform, multitreaded video transcoder.
Download | Full review

 

MetaX
Meta-data tagger for MP4 files that automatically searches IMDB and tagChimp for movie credits.
Download

  Flip4Mac WMV
Play Windows Media files (WMA and WMV) in QuickTime.
Download

 

Fairmount
Decrypt DVD content on-the-fly for archival.
Download

 

Evom
For those looking for a simple, one-click video converting solution.
Download | Full review

  XBMC
Fully loaded media center for your Mac.
Download | Full review 

  MpegStreamClip
Play, create, and convert almost any video format.
Download | Full review
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