When Apple demoed Lion, the next major version of Mac OS X, at a press event in October, we all oohed and ahhed over the first four features Steve Jobs and Co. told us about. The Mac App Store, Mission Control, Launch Pad, and full-screen application views all look very cool--so cool that we got a little bummed that we’d have to wait until Lion’s launch in summer 2011 to get them on our Macs. But with just a few application add-ons, you can give your current install of Snow Leopard some of the same teeth as Lion.
Apple previewed the Mac App Store as a Lion feature, but later said they would bring it to Snow Leopard within 90 days—as we went to press, Apple was already taking submissions. The Mac App Store will give developers a place to sell applications for OS X, and it’ll give users one-click purchasing, plus automatic installing and updating, similar to buying apps for your iOS devices. You’ll even be able to re-download your applications onto multiple Macs. Sounds pretty good, but again, you don’t have to wait for Apple’s official option to find a one-stop shop for discovering, purchasing, and updating software for your Mac. Instead, try Bodega (Free, appbodega.com).
Look familiar? Apple's Mac App Store has a lot of finesse, but it's not the first at this party.
Bodega mimics the look and feel of the iTunes App Store, presenting you with a very visual interface of app icons. Just like the Mac App Store, Bodega lets you browse and download many categories of apps. The sidebar’s category list has 20 application types, ranging from Audio to Desktop Enhancements to Finance to Home & Personal.
Bodega features a unique storefront-style UI design.
When browsing applications, you can click on an icon to see a detailed page with a description, new features in the current version, and a screenshot you can click to enlarge. You can also read reviews by clicking the Reviews tab and see press information under the Press tab. If you still haven’t decided whether or not you want to buy the app, click the Download button to get a trial copy.
Clicking on any application will bring you to a detailed information page about that application, including screenshots and price.
If you decide you want to purchase it, click the Buy Now button to be taken through the checkout process. Bodega actually sends you to the developer’s website to go through the checkout process. This way you will be dealing right with the software company, instead of a third party, although it’s a little less convenient than Apple’s method of storing your credit card with your account.
The Apple Mac App Store will be able to keep your Mac apps up-to-date, but so can Bodega. Every application on your Mac is listed in the Applications section, found in the sidebar. If an update is available, you’ll see “Update available” in the Status column with a small Get button. Click that to download, then you’ll see an Install button that completes the process.
Unfortunately, Bodega’s downfall is what it’s missing: popular developers like Ambrosia, Panic, Freeverse, and Rogue Amoeba, just to name a few. That being said, Bodega is great when you just want to find an application quickly and effortlessly. Plus, it has a great selection of free applications.
Updates for your applications are displayed in the Status column.
Launchpad is a new way to launch and organize your apps in Lion, similar to the way home screens work on the iPad and other iOS devices. It displays your Mac apps’ icons in a full-screen view, and you swipe through the different home screens and click an icon to launch the app. You’ll be able to create folders to organize your applications by dragging one app icon on top of another, just as you would on iOS devices. While this feature will be nice to have in Lion, quite a few applications can already do this now—and provide more functionality than Apple has demoed in the Launchpad feature.
Apple borrowed a page from the iOS playbook for Launchpad's home screen UI.
Of the many visual application launchers for the Mac, perhaps the most Launchpad-like is Overflow ($14.95, stuntsoftware.com/overflow). It lets you sort your Mac applications into various folders and use a shortcut key to quickly bring up the application launcher.
Overflow looks and works similar to the Dock, allowing you to drag and drop applications into the 15 holding spots per category. You organize your apps into different categories by right-clicking the window, which pops up options for creating or removing a category. These categories can be named to your specifications and the contents can be applications, documents, or folders.
Overflow works just like the Dock does, and provides one-click access to applications, documents, and even Finder folders.
By default, you can access Overflow by pressing Control-Space bar or by clicking the icon in the Dock. When you do, the Overflow window pops up, letting you single-click any application, folder, or document you have stored in the launcher. You can tweak settings—like the keyboard shortcut and whether or not to show or hide the application in the Dock—in the Overflow preferences.
To add an item, simply drag it to a free space in a category; to remove it, drag it out of the Overflow window.
Overflow has company: We found tons of great visual application launchers, including these three that are definitely worth a look.
Todos
(free, dbachrach.com)
Todos provides you with one-click access to all the applications on your Mac. Click its icon in the menu bar or type a shortcut key to see a popup of all your Mac apps’ icons, then just click one to launch it. Its simple, clean interface is easy to use, but there’s no way to organize your apps into groups.
Jump
(19 euros, or about $26.50, app4mac.com)
Jump allows you to create unlimited groups and place an unlimited number of apps, documents, or folders in each group. Plus, a Find feature lets you easily search a group for a particular item. But you can’t drill down into folders from inside Jump, and it’s a bit pricey.
JBerokyo
($18.95, berokyo.com)
JBerokyo lets you organize frequently used apps, documents, files, folders, and even webpages. This launcher’s interface is reminiscent of the bookshelf in iBooks, and provides customization options and multiple shelves.
Next Page>> Full-Screen Applications & Mission Control
Nano-fan
December 07, 2010 at 4:31pm
I think Apple should buy Screenflow and allow you to drag your cursor over an area, click record, and do a video screen capture without any expensive third-party app.
