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These five greats of free Mac software belong on every computer you own.
Tweetie’s great design makes it entirely enjoyable to use.
Once you get the Tweetie desktop app, navigating to the Twitter website will be a thing of the past. Tweetie installs an icon on your toolbar, which lights up when you have unread tweets. It’s free if you use the ad-based version, but ads rarely show up, and more often than not, they’re advertisements for things you probably want. Score.
VLC has a small footprint and tons of options. Who could ask for more?
An open-source multimedia player and framework, VLC plays nearly every type of multimedia file, spanning the gap from DVDs to the latest streaming protocols. Though it’s simple and clean, its open source-ness means that it’s extendable in an endlessly helpful way.
Nearly all of these menus will change the look of Adium drastically. Awesome!
If you’re looking for an instant messaging application that connects with multiple chat clients, Adium’s your best bet. Feature-friendly and open source, it has tons of customizability options ready for download straight from the developer’s site (adiumxtras.com). And like fiddling with your desktop wallpaper, changing your Adium appearance options is good for a nerd-rush every time.
All this from simply typing the letter “S.”
Quicksilver is a quick-launch tool that enables you to open a program, search within it, or execute various actions—all with a simple keystroke. Its complexities are daunting at first, but we highly recommend learning it for the improvements you’ll reap in quick iTunes control and Mail searching.
If you prefer, Caffeine can also be placed in your Dock for easier access.
Remember all those times you were watching YouTube videos and your screen dimmed right at the good part? Caffeine is the simple solution for those moments when saving power is not a good thing. Install Caffeine, and a little coffee cup icon shows up on your menu bar. When the cup is full of java, your screen won’t dim; when it’s empty, it will. It’s simple, small, and we use it nearly every day.
RealPlayer SP for Mac (real.com/realplayer/mac) lets you download and save your favorite streaming videos. It’s perfect for grabbing music videos from YouTube and MySpace, and also works with iFilm, Google Video, CollegeHumor, and more.
Free and attractive video player Miro (getmiro.com) has a handy directory of video podcasts and supports subscriptions and automatic downloads. It also supports RSS feeds and BitTorrent downloads, but most of that content isn’t exactly being legally shared.
iTunes has even more video podcasts, including slick entries from HBO, PBS, The Onion, ESPN, CNN, Comedy Central, and tons of other TV networks--and you can’t beat the convenience of its automatic downloads.
Hulu.com is still the best, delivering loads of free ad-supported shows to watch. Picrap.com has a ton, too. And most of the networks stream shows on their sites now--abc.go.com, dsc.discovery.com/videos/, bravotv.com, and mtv.com are a few of our favorites.
Next page: How To (Maybe) Get a Free Mac »
dnstevenson
November 16, 2010 at 10:21am
Speaking of free credit reports - we review iPhone apps that help you manage your credit. Check the reviews of both free apps and paid apps at www.creditreportappreviews.com
redfalcon5
November 12, 2010 at 9:06pm
I am currently using 'netTALK'. There are no adds and you don't have to coerce friends to sign up. It works just like a phone. It works off of Wi-Fi with my iPod Touch.
wfurlong
November 10, 2010 at 1:09pm
this has been one of the most informative articles you've ever posted....because i'm super cheap! Thanks!
Rebelord
November 10, 2010 at 10:56am
Now here's an interesting dilemma. uTorrent merged with BitTorrent, and both apps look surprisingly the same for the Mac OS. And since they're merged, what's the difference really between the 2 applications. It would be nice if you did an article comparing the 2 Torrent clients, and seeing what the differences are, if any.
