Who says you need an application? Sometimes, all you need is a plug-in to make your regular apps run harder, better, faster, and stronger. However, plug-ins don't get the respect and recognition that full fledged apps do. And while there are applications to do most things, who needs an application when a simple plug-in can do everything behind the scenes?

We introduce the ten “Flugins” (free plug-ins) that will make you forget there were ever shortcomings in your favorite OS X apps.

QuickTime Plug-ins

>>Perian Tools

If QuickTime player was a bread bowl, and your video was soup (forgive us, we're hungry), Perian would be the forks, knives, and spoons all in one. You only need one file format to play the video, but it has so many extras that you will never be caught off guard. Perian includes playback support for MS-MPEG4 v1 & v2, DivX, 3ivx, H.264, Sorenson H.263, FLV/Sorenson Spark, FSV1, VP6, H263i, VP3, HuffYUV, FFVHuff, MPEG1 & MPEG2 Video, Fraps, Snow, NuppelVideo, Techsmith Screen Capture, DosBox Capture, all within QuickTime. Yeah, we didn’t know there was a "Fraps" file format either. Technically, you could just download VLC player, but QuickTime integrates much better with other OS X applications, and it's set to be the default media player, anyways.

Perian can be downloaded here.

>>Flip4Mac

Apparently (and surprisingly) there are still a lot of people using Windows Media Player for their everyday tasks. However, there is a glaring lack of support for the Windows media file formats (WMV and ASF) in OS X. To add insult to injury, even though there are third-party solutions that can open WMV files, like the excellent Miro Player, there is no way to play windows media files that are embedded on Web pages. Flip4Mac has a solution, and even though it only does one thing, it does it well. It extends WMV and ASF support throughout the OS X ecosystem, so your compatibility worries can go away. There is a free version that merely allows playback of Windows Media files, which is enough for us, but if you want to convert WMV to QuickTime, export to WMV, or export to HD WMV, you will have to shell out some cash.

Flip4Mac can be downloaded here.

>>Glims

The browser wars are in full swing. Internet Explorer, once the unquestioned king of the Internet hill, finds its market share declining, while Firefox gains momentum every week. And it's no surprise, given its combination of geek-friendly extensibility and basic user-oriented stability. That's not to say it's perfect; it's notorious for being RAM-intensive, a problem exacerbated by its imperfect port to OS X. However, without comparable features, such as saved tabs and keyword searches, using Apple's native Safari feels like using a Honda while a Lexus is parked in the driveway.

Glims, a plug-in for Safari, offers a good compromise. It adds features like full screen browsing, saved tabs on close, auto-complete in search, enhanced form auto-completion, and our personal favorite, mappable keyword search, which allows you to easily query any search engine from the address bar. While Glims’ feature set won’t appease hardcore Firefox users, it duplicates the functionality of some of Firefox’s most popular extensions.

Glims can be downloaded here. However, as of this writing (6/26/09) there is no Safari 4 compatible version. We assume one is in development, but until then, it can actually increase the probability that Safari crashes on launch, so we recommend you don't download it.

>>AdBlock

Firefox users know the power of Ad-Block, the veritable defense against your computer suddenly saying “You have won a free iPod nano.” However, if you are using Safari, the only built in defense is the pop-up blocker, which, while effective, does not prevent obnoxious banner ads. Enter Safari AdBlock, which presumably takes inspiration from the Firefox version of the same name. Unfortunately, Safari AdBlock still has fewer features than its Firefox counterpart. You can’t selectively block ads, and you can’t modify the block list, save for adding exceptions.

Safari AdBlock can be downloaded here.

NEXT: Quick Look Plug-ins