My hot list of OS X add-ons
These utilities are all updated for and/or fully compatible with Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) (except for a slight display bug in Synergy). They also all rate very high on my excellence-in-execution scale.
iSeek — Hit a hotkey, type a query, and quickly find anything on the web! Much, much faster than opening a browser and going to Google, or any of 50 other sites like PHP.net or eBay. Fully extensible; you can add any other site you like, and there are more presets on the iSeek website.
Synergy — Easily the best of the iTunes control utilities, Synergy enables hotkeys for iTunes control with visual feedback, just like OS X’s volume and brightness feedback. It also can place iTunes controls in the menubar, and display song info (and download album covers) when the track changes.
Key Xing — I finally found a hotkey utility that just does hotkeys. I’d been existing up ‘till today an ancient copy of MaxMenus, which was overkill in my opinion. Allows you to run applications, execute AppleScripts, go to URLs, or paste text blocks with definable key combinations.
Salling Clicker — Despite the rather nondescriptive name, if you have a BlueTooth-enabled wireless phone or Palm device (I have the SonyEricsson T68i), you need Salling Clicker. This is an immensely cool and fully extensible (via AppleScript) way to integrate your Mac and handheld device. For example, when you get a phone call on your wireless phone, SC can set an away message in iChat, pause iTunes or the DVD Player, and display the name and number of the caller on-screen. Or you can use your handheld/phone as a remote control for iTunes/DVD Player/Anything. Or it can set a password when you walk away from your computer. The possibilities are endless!
SideTrack — SideTrack is a substitute trackpad driver for PowerBooks/iBooks. Among other things, it allows you to use the right and bottom edges of your trackpad as scrollwheels. Not as obvious as the other items mentioned here, but lets you do things you couldn’t otherwise do, and I’m always in favor of that.
1 Comment