erraticwisdom

Comments

1. You need….
   
   TEXTMATE!!! – macromates.com
   MAMP – mamp.info
   Navicat (for mysql)
   NetNewsWire – http://ranchero.com/
   Cyberduck – http://www.cyberduck.ch
   
   Phil

   Phillip PAlmieri

   May 18, 10:45 AM #
2. Textmate, absolutely. I just switched from BBEdit, and the macromate guy’s getting my money in about 15 days. ;-)
   
   I also recommend:
   
   AdiumX for chatting with non-iChat folks.
   Azureus for BitTorrenting.
   The AirTrafficControl widget for wifi happiness.
   
   If you absolutely can’t afford Textmate then use TextWrangler… but decide ahead of time if you can afford it, because once you use Textmate then TW and BBEdit will hurt...

   frosty

   May 18, 01:42 PM #
3. You need to get Growl too. Who doesn’t like cool system notifications?
   
   http://growl.info/

   Scott McNulty

   May 18, 02:40 PM #
4. GNU Emacs. It’s THE editor, on any system.

   Veracon

   May 19, 05:12 AM #
5. Congrats on the new machine. I think I may agree with you after seeing the models in person. While the black color is sexier, the matte material sort of ruins the effect. Plus it looks like the casing picks up all kinds of oils from your hand.
   
   My recommendations:
   Handbrake – for all your DVD ripping needs (the universal binary screams on these intel machines)
   LinoType’s FontExplorer – An absolute must for font management over FontBook, and it’s free!
   SuperDuper! – for file backups
   TextMate – also won me over from TextWrangler/BBEdit
   Transmit – FTP software that gets it done and does it right
   Junior Mint – widget for previewing Mint status (should you need it)

   Sean Sperte

   May 19, 08:52 AM #
6. i think i might be alone on this but i think Quicksilver is too bulky for its own good, and i have a G5.
   
   i’m addicted to iSeek:
   
   http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/iseek/
   
   ... and search hotkeys. also, Sidenote:
   
   http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/productivity_tools/sidenote.html
   
   ... for taking and organizing quick notes or frequently referenced text; and Transmit:
   
   http://www.panic.com/transmit/
   
   ... for FTP.

   Justin

   May 19, 08:53 AM #
7. I was using BBEdit at work, but there seems to be a consensus here that Textmate might be the better choice so I’ll be getting that soon.
   
   I really like that AirTrafficControl widget too. It isn’t the prettiest, but it sure does it’s job well.
   
   Sean: Yeah, I wasn’t really feeling the black. Honestly, it looked (and felt) just like my old HP notebook. The white just makes me feel happy :D
   
   Excellent suggestions everyone, thanks for helping out.
   
   Okay, back to the beach! I need to make the most out of this vacation. *splash*

   Thame

   May 19, 11:25 AM #
8. I’m not quite sure what you would need. Rather, I am wondering what you think about your MacBook so far? I am thinking of getting one as my new laptop, as I have no computer of my own at the moment.

   Tom Martin

   May 19, 04:01 PM #
9. Tom: I love this thing. It is the first Mac that I’ve owned, but I am really happy with it so far. The glossy widescreen is beautiful and it feels well-built.
   
   I’ll probably be adding some more RAM, but that’s not a big deal and is definitely not required.
   
   Basically, go for it :D

   Thame

   May 19, 07:24 PM #
10. Congratulations on your new macbook… I’m starting to drool over these little guys, but I’m waiting to shell out the money in another year, when I’m going to be starting college.
    
    I also agree with you, it seems crazy that you can spend $200 more and all you get is black and 20gb more hdd space… That’s a good deal! /sarcasm

    Max

    May 20, 12:20 PM #
11. i would have laughed if you spent $200 more on getting a different color.
    
    i don’t have a mac, too poor :D

    Sayuri

    May 20, 01:22 PM #
12. Nice! I love using the Macs at the current college I am attending. Having a MacBook would be rather nice for me too, so I’m not constricted to their computer lab for the majority of my day, doing homework.

    Tom Martin

    May 20, 10:22 PM #
13. Max: Thanks! I spent the $200 on 2GB of RAM instead. I can barely run Photoshop with 512MB right now.
    
    Sayuri: I hadn’t planned on spending this much on a computer, but things have been going well recently so I decided to splurge :D
    
    Tom: I almost went crazy towards the end of last semester when my last laptop broke. I would spend a couple of hours just waiting for a computer to open up.

    Thame

    May 22, 10:48 AM #
14. I’d recommend…
    CSSEdit – http://www.macrabbit.com/
    WebNoteHappy – http://www.happyapps.com/
    Xyle scope – http://www.culturedcode.com/xyle/
    FlySketch & VoodooPad – http://www.flyingmeat.com/
    Apple’s iCal, iTunes, QuickTime 7 and iSync
    Acquisition – http://www.acquisitionx.com
    NewsFire – http://www.newsfirerss.com/

    Fernando Lucas Lins

    May 23, 06:54 AM #
15. Comic Life http://plasq.com/
    Little Snitch http://www.obdev.at/products/littlesnitch/
    MacTheRipper see http://www.ripdifferent.com/
    
    Anybody recommend a good VOIP client? (please no Gizmo).

    Rick

    May 23, 11:33 AM #
16. Definitely you started well with Quicksilver! Great program.
    
    Things I can’t live without (that don’t come with your computer):
    
    CSSEdit
    TextMate
    Firefox (duh)
    Adium
    Transmit
    FontExplorer X
    
    All of which will blow your budget at less than $100 together.

    Dave Simon

    May 24, 09:28 AM #
17. Wow, there are some really great programs out there. I can’t wait ‘till my RAM gets here so I can actually open them.
    
    Anyone planning on getting a MacBook should definitely upgrade their memory.

    Thame

    May 24, 01:09 PM #
18. Yeah good tips guys, thanks…
    
    I’ll be using CSSedit and Textmate for sure, they were just what I needed.
    
    v.

    Vincenze

    May 24, 08:39 PM #
19. These are the applications that I use on a frequent basis.
    
    * Textmate
    * Handbrake
    * Transmit
    * Growl
    * The Free SQL tools from mysql.com
    * iTerm (I Couldn’t live in a terminal without tabs)
    * Adium
    * Skype
    * Acquisition

    Jamie Fehr

    May 25, 01:44 AM #
20. so selfish of me… here are a few I didn’t notice mentioned…
    
    * ffmpegx (all your dvd encoding needs, excellent and free)
    * istumber (free wifi finder)
    * VLC player (u probably already know, it’ll play anything unlike qt)
    * audacity (audio editing / recording)
    
    cheers and have fun… also the coolest thing about having a mac is hot corners, you’ll have fun watching your friends as they say “OMG all the windows disappeared!”
    
    V.

    Vincenze

    May 26, 06:22 AM #
21. My cousin and I bought the near same Toshiba laptops three years ago, and were never notified when Toshiba had recalled them due to an extraordinarily high amount of faulty parts. I found out about it one week afterwards, and was bummed. I went through two harddrives that it corrupted (managed to refurbish them and use them as external drives, which was a whole other story), and extra memory I had bought.
    
    Needless to say, it only worked for about a year and a half – just long enough for my warranty to expire. I took the laptop apart, salvaging the screen and other items I could use in my hobby of robotics, and sold off the good memory.
    
    Ever since then, I’ve been wary about Toshiba, but that was due to their shoddy tech support. They would deny any knowledge of the faulty parts, and it seemed they would do everything to keep from giving me the help I needed.
    
    I gave that battle up two years ago, and have gone without a working laptop for almost one year (only my PocketPC to hold me over).
    
    From what I have been hearing, a MacBook is a solid investment, and I plan on getting one when I get the chance.

    Tom Martin

    May 26, 09:16 PM #
22. Thanks for the tips everyone, these are really helping me build up my system.
    
    Tom, I’m certain you’ll be happy with your MacBook. It really is an amazing machine.
    
    Vincenze: I love showing all my PC friends Expose. I just open up a ton of windows, press the button and watch their envy :D

    Thame

    May 28, 03:47 PM #