SOFTWARE

Here is a list of recommended software. It concentrates on software mentioned in our meetings, presentations, and newsletters. Suggestions for additions to this page may be sent to the webmaster or any group officer (see the Officers section of the "About" page on this site).

In June 2010 the entire page was tested and updated for all the entries.

CONTENTS
Shareware and Freeware
Services for OS-X
Commercial Software for Emergencies
Selected Commercial Graphic Software
Where to buy computer gear

Shareware and Freeware

Amadeus II	Shareware ($30)
Requirements:	a Power Mac, Mac OS 9.x with CarbonLib or OS X 10.0 or later
Martin Hairer	martin@hairersoft.com http://www.hairersoft.com
	This cool audio program allows you to record, manipulate, create, and analyze sounds. It features tools for recording, resampling, encoding MP3s, frequency filtering, eliminating background noise, modulation, mixing, and more. Use it to remove pops and scratches from your vinyl to MP3 recordings, or create unique sound effects with up to 2GB support. It also features powerful sound synthesizers to reproduce practically any instrument, sonograms to visually analyze frequency versus intensity, and spectrograms to view a sound's different harmonics.

AppleJack	Donationware
Requirements:	Mac OS X 10.2.x or later. AppleJack 1.4.3 is now Intel-compatible.
sourceforge	http://applejack.sourceforge.net/
	AppleJack is a user friendly troubleshooting assistant for Mac OS X. With AppleJack you can troubleshoot a computer even if you can't load the GUI, or don't have a startup CD handy. AppleJack runs in Single User Mode and is menu-based for ease of use. Using AppleJack, you can repair your disk, repair permissions, validate the system's preference files, and get rid of possibly corrupted cache files. In most cases, these operations can help get your machine back on track. The important thing is that you don't need another startup disk with you.

AppDelete	Freeware
Requirements:	Mac OS-X
Reggie Ashworth	reggie.ashworth@gmail.com http://reggie.ashworth.googlepages.com/appdelete
	AppDelete is an application for Macs that will delete the application you choose and any associated items (files and folders) that belong to that application. Now you will no longer have to hunt through your system to find these items and delete them manually. Or worse, just let them sit on your Mac forever even though the application is long gone!

AppZapper	Shareware ($12.95)
Requirements:	Mac OS 10.4 or later
Austin Sarner and Brian Ball	support@appzapper.com http://appzapper.com
	AppZapper allows you to confidently uninstall virtually any application, widget, preference pane and plug-in as easily as it was installed - just drag and drop. AppZapper intelligently finds leftover support files and allows users to put them in the trash with a single click.

Audacity	Freeware
Requirements:	Requirements: Mac OS X 10.1.3 or higher
Audacity	audacity-help@lists.sourceforge.net http://audacity.sourceforge.net
	Wanna make music but don't want to drop a dime on some fancy shmancy audio recording program? This may be the ticket. This free, multitrack audio recorder and editor lets you record audio, edit waveforms, mix tracks together, apply sound effects, and export your music as a WAV, AIFF, OGG, or MP3 file. It features a built-in amplitude envelope editor; a gain and pan control for every track; a customizable spectrogram mode; a frequency analysis window; bass boost, wahwah, and noise removal filters; and supports VST plug-ins too.

BatChmod	Freeware
Requirements:	Requirements: Mac OS X
Renaud Boisjoly	renaud@mac.com http://www.macchampion.com/arbysoft
	A utility to allow you to change permissions on multiple files at once. Also it is able to delete files from the Trash that may resist deletion because of permission problems.

Carbon Copy Cloner	Freeware
Requirements:	Mac OS 10.1.2 thru 10.4.2
Bombich Software	ccc@bombich.com http://www.bombich.com
	Have you ever wanted a simple, complete, bootable backup of your hard drive? Have you ever wanted to upgrade to a larger hard drive with minimal hassle and without reinstalling your OS and all of your applications? Have you ever wanted to move your entire Mac OS-X installation to a new computer? Then CCC is the tool for you! You can setup a regular backup regimen that occurs in the background, even if you are not logged in.

CheckOff	Freeware
Requirements:	Mac OS X or later
Carpeaqua Software	http://www.carpeaqua.com
	Check Off puts a task and to-do-list menu in your menubar and gives you a familiar checkbox-type interface to mark off all that you've accomplished.

Ciphsafe	Freeware
Requirements:	Mac OS X 10.4 later
sourceforge Software	http://ciphsafe.sourceforge.net/
	CiphSafe provides an easy-to-use method for storing account/password pairs as well as any general notes you wish to keep safe. The application encrypts with 320-bit Blowfish, includes random password generation and has a very clean interface.

Cinch	Shareware ($7.00)
Requirements:	OS X 10.5 (Leopard) or 10.6 (Snow Leopard)
Irradiated Software	http://www.irradiatedsoftware.com/cinch/
	Cinch is a small application that gives you simple, mouse-driven window management by defining the left, right, and top edges of your screen as 'hot zones'. Drag a window until the mouse cursor enters one of these zones then drop the window to have it cinch into place. Cinching to the left or right edges of the screen will resize the window to fill exactly half the screen, allowing you to easily compare two windows side-by-side (splitscreen). Cinching to the top edge of the screen will resize the window to fill the entire screen (fullscreen). Dragging a window away from its cinched position will restore the window to its original size.

ClamXav	Freeware/Donationware
Requirements:	Mac OS-X
ClamXav	http://www.clamxav.com/
	ClamXav is a free virus checker for Mac OS X. It uses the tried, tested and very popular ClamAV open source antivirus engine as a back end. Back in the days before OS X, the number of viruses which attacked Macintosh users totalled somewhere between about 60 and 80. Today, the number of viruses actively attacking OS X users is...NONE! However, this doesn't mean we should get complacent about checking incoming email attachments or web downloads, for two reasons. Firstly, there's no guarantee that we Mac users will continue to enjoy the status quo, but more importantly, the majority of the computing world use machines running MS Windows, for which an enormous quantity of viruses exist, so we must be vigilant in checking the files we pass on to our friends and colleagues etc.

Cocktail	Shareware ($14.95 single user)
Requirements:	Mac OS-X 10.2 or later, an administrator account.
Kristofer Szymanski	http://www.maintain.se/cocktail/index.php
	Cocktail is a general purpose utility. The application simplifies the use of advanced UNIX functions and gives access to hidden Mac OS-X settings. All of Cocktail's major features are arranged in five basic categories. In addition, a "Pilot" lets you optimize your system with one click of the button and schedule miscellaneous maintenance tasks. Built-in Help provides an overview of features in Cocktail. Click on a specific section, or use the search feature at the top of the on-screen Help window. Now fighting trojans and other bad guys.

Cyberduck	Freeware
Requirements:	Mac OS-X 10.3.9 or later
David V. Kocher	feedback@cyberduck.ch http://cyberduck.ch
	Cyberduck is an open-source FTP and SFTP (SSH Secure File Transfer) browser licenced under the GPL with an easy-to-use interface, integration with external editors, and support for many Mac OS X system technologies such as Spotlight, Bonjour, the Keychain, and AppleScript.

DesktopLyrics	Freeware
Requirements:	Mac OS X 10.3 or later, iTunes 4.7 or later
core code	feedback@corecode.at http://www.corecode.at/desktoplyrics/
	DesktopLyrics is an application that displays the lyrics of the song currently playing in iTunes right on your desktop. The lyrics for the song have to be set in iTunes, DesktopLyrics does nothing to fetch lyrics if they aren't available in iTunes. If you don't want to set all your lyrics manually you can use an application like Harmonic.

Digitools	Freeware
Requirements:	Mac OS-X
Joshua Coventry	info@megaworks.co.uk http://digitools.en.softonic.com/mac
	A set of tools that include a word processor, a notepad, a movie viewer, a dictionary, a font browser, and an image viewer.

EasyDraw	Shareware ($20)
Requirements:	OS-X
Dekorra Optics	support@eazydraw.com http://www.eazydraw.com/
	Vector Drawing Application - Think... MacDraw on Steroids. The OS X drawing application of choice for Engineers, Entrepreneurs, Artist, Hobbyist and Educators. Drafting, DTP, Illustrations, Technical Drawings, Web Art, Organization Charts, Family Trees, House Plans, Math Curvesetc.

EasyFind	Freeware
Requirements:	OS-X 10.4 or later
Devon Technologies	info@devon-technologies.com http://www.devon-technologies.com/download/
	EasyFind finds files, folders, or contents in any file without the need for indexing - and therefore immediately. This is especially useful if you are looking for missing features like case-sensitive search, boolean operators, wild cards, or searching for phrases. In addition, EasyFind uses multithreading and is therefore very responsive even with multiple search processes running. It provides Contextual Menus and Mac OS X services and displays the location of each item in a separate column for a better overview. EasyFind uses little memory, supports drag-and-drop and the clipboard, and optionally finds invisible items or items within packages.

Fetch	Shareware ($25)
Requirements:	OS-X
Fetch Softworks	info@fetchsoftworks.com http://fetchsoftworks.com/
	This application provides fast communication across the internet using FTP. It is usually used to upload files to a website on a server after you have built the website files in HTML on your own computer. Fetch 5 is needed for Tiger and Fetch 4 works on previous operating systems. It is used to update the MAGIC website.

Filetype	Freeware
Requirements:	OS-9 or OS-X
Frederik Seiffert	ego@frederikseiffert.de http://www.frederikseiffert.de/filetype/
	FileType is an application to change the file types (type- and creator-codes) of files. You can save the file types you frequently use in a database so you don't have to remember them. It's very easy to use. FileType is pretty much self-explaining to most users. Just click around and you will see that most of what you have expected to happen will happen.

Flip4Mac	Freeware
Requirements:	OS-X
Telestream	sales@telestream.net http://www.telestream.net/flip4mac-wmv/overview.htm
	Flip4Mac WMV Components allow you to import, export and play Windows Media video and audio files on your Mac. Flip4Mac WMV export components can be used with QuickTime Pro, Final Cut Pro, Compressor, and iMovie 06 (iMovie '08 and '09 not supported.)

FontExplorer X	Freeware
Requirements:	Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later
Linotype	info@linotype.com http://www.linotype.com/
	Organize your fonts just like your media files - using a library, folders, tags and even smart sets. You want direct access to all typefaces from a certain foundry? All italics? Or all fonts tagged with a certain keyword? FontExplorer™ X makes this easy! All fonts and formats are recognized automatically and can be managed in a comfortable way. You decide whether FontExplorer™ X should take control over the folder structure, or if you want to leave it untouched - we built this software to be as unobtrusive as possible.

FontNuke	Freeware
Requirements:	Mac OS X
jamapi	jpsnake@gmail.com http://www.jamapi.com/
	Romoves bad fonts from the font caches. Should be used after Font Book has verified all the fonts and identified bad ones.

Font Sampler	Freeware
Requirements:	Mac OS X
dot Software	dotsw@dotsw.com http://www.dotsw.com/
	Font Sampler is a small utility to help you view your fonts. Font Sampler allows you to view all your fonts in one big list. It supports different colors of backgrounds and text, size, your own custom phrase to view the fonts in, and the ability to underline the fonts. Print your Fonts with the click of a button you can print off all of your fonts using the default settings. You can print them off for future reference or using the save as PDF button, you can print out what Font Sampler is displaying, send it to a client, and get some feedback. Webmaster comment: www.dotsw.com seems to have disappeared - MAGIC members can get a copy of this software from the President

FruitMenu	Shareware ($15)
Requirements:	Mac OS X 10.4.x or Mac OS X 10.5.x NOT compatible with Mac OS X 10.6
	Unsanity	unsanity@unsanity.com http://www.unsanity.com
	FruitMenu lets you customize OS-X menus, including contextual ones, the way you want. Add folders and files to menus; assign hot keys to files, folders, or tasks; access your user System Preferences from a submenu; open any file in an app of your choice from a contextual menu; set your desktop pic in a click; and a whole lot more.

GIFfun	Freeware
	Requirements:	Mac OS-X 10.2 or later
	Stone Design	unsanity@unsanity.com http://www.stone.com/GIFfun/ GIFfun_by_Stone_Design.html
	GIFfun™ by Stone Design is the key to creating Web Animations quickly - you can use Create™ to make the individiual slides, or drag in any Image File directly into the GIFfun window, and the best part is that GIFfun is totally free, including the well-commented source code.

GraphicConverter	Shareware ($35)
Requirements:	Power Mac, Mac OS 8.6-9.x
Thorsten Lemke	lemkesoft@aol.com http://www.lemkesoft.de
	Looking for a fantastic graphics editor, but can't afford Photoshop? This all-purpose, image-editing program lets you open, tweak, and save files in just about any graphics format. It features high-end editing tools for graphic manipulation, filters for special effects, and even supports Photoshop plug-ins. Plus, it also offers batch-conversion capabilities, lets you build your own slide show, supports AppleScript, and can import and export a helluva lot more file formats than you even knew existed.

GraphicConverter X	Shareware ($35)
Requirements:	G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS-X
Thorsten Lemke	lemkesoft@aol.com http://www.lemkesoft.de
	Looking for a fantastic graphics editor, but can't afford Photoshop? This all-purpose, image-editing program lets you open, tweak, and save files in just about any graphics format. It features high-end editing tools for graphic manipulation, filters for special effects, and even supports Photoshop plug-ins. Plus, it also offers batch-conversion capabilities, lets you build your own slide show, supports AppleScript, and can import and export a helluva lot more file formats than you even knew existed.

iAntiVirus	Freeware
Requirements:	Mac with intel processor and OS-X 10.5
PC Tools	http://www.iantivirus.com/
	With PC Tools iAntiVirus™ you are protected against the most nefarious cyber-threats attempting to gain access to your Mac and personal information. PC Tools iAntiVirus™ provides real-time protection and comprehensive system scanning to ensure your Mac remains safe and virus free. iAntiVirus™ has been designed with the user in mind. The user interface is purely functional, making it simple to scan for, remove and manage infections.

iBackup	Freeware
Requirements:	Mac OS X 10.3, 10.4 or later
Grapefruit	http://www.grapefruit.ch/iBackup
	iBackup is a simple to use backup/restore utillity for scheduled backup of files, folders, applications and your system preferences like the dock, decktop pictures, time settings, firewall, bluetooth and system applications like AddressBook, Mail, Stickies, iChat, iTunes, and more. You can edit these preferences settings and add your own.

iDefrag	Shareware ($30)
Requirements:	Mac OS X
Coriolis Systems	info@inventive.us http://www.coriolis-systems.com/iDefrag.php
	In Demo mode, iDefrag will examine a disk to see whether it needs defragmenting. Supports internal and external disks. After paying the fee - The latest version can defrag any volume including the boot volume.

Jiggler	Freeware
Requirements:	Mac OS X
Stick Software	http://www.sticksoftware.com/
	Jiggler is a little freeware app with one purpose: to keep your Mac awake. When you have some lengthy task for your computer to do, it's annoying to have to turn off your screensaver and turn off the sleep timer, only to have to turn it all back on again when you're done. (The "never sleep" corner will keep your screensaver from kicking in, but still won't prevent your machine from falling asleep.) What you really want is a little helper who will bump your mouse every once in a while to keep your machine alert. That's Jiggler.

ImageTricks	Freeware
Requirements:	Mac OS X 10.4 or later
BeLight Software	support@belightsoft.com http://www.belightsoft.com
	Image Tricks is a free image editor for Mac OS X Tiger, based on Apple Core Image filters. This cool app lets Tiger users apply the special effects like pro image editors. Also Image Tricks supports LinkBack technology, which enables users to open and edit images modified in Image Tricks in other LinkBack-enabled applications: http://www.linkbackproject.org/applications.

LaunchBar	Shareware ($19.95 - home use)
Requirements:	G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS-X 10.1 or later
Objective Development	vt-support@obdev.at http://www.obdev.at/
	LaunchBar is a file-finding utility that allows you to find any folder, file, app, or what have you on your hard drive - just type a few letters of what you're looking for and the app will find it for you, lickety-split. Use it to find documents, email addresses, preference panes, apps, bookmarks, and more.

Listz	Shareware?
Requirements:	Mac OS-X 10.3 or later
Robochan	http://www.versiontracker.com/ dyn/moreinfo/macosx/30177
	Whether you are brainstorming, planning, or organizing it is critical to get your ideas and thoughts down. Listz's UI is designed to make this fast, easy, and sometimes, downright pleasant. You can create dozens of items in seconds. Then go back and add rich media notes, including graphics or even movies. Set due dates and give your items alarms to be certain you don't miss them, and of course, Listz's alarms work even when Listz isn't running. Listz's powerful implementation of drag&drop interactions allow you to build up your lists just by dragging in URLs, files, or text, instantly creating new items for you as you go. This is a quick and powerful way to create lists of sites you want to re-visit or files you want to have quick access to.

Little Snitch	Shareware ($24.95)
Requirements:	G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS-X 10.2 or later
Objective Development	vt-support@obdev.at http://www.obdev.at/
	Little Snitch alerts you on outgoing network connections. Spyware or Trojan horses - i.e. programs transmitting unconsciously data stored on your computer - can be detected by Little Snitch and prevented on the transmission of data. Little Snitch runs in the background and hooks into the operating system kernel while you are logged in. When an application tries to establish a network connection, Little Snitch intercepts the attempt and brings up an alert panel, telling you all the connection details including the name of the application which initiated the connection. You can either allow the connection, deny it or add a permanent rule for similar future-connections.

MacJanitor	Freeware
Requirements:	G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS-X 10.1 through 10.4.3
Brian Hill	brianhill@mac.com http://personalpages.tds.net/~brian_hill
	For those who turn off their Mac every night, this freeware utility runs the Mac OS-X maintenance tasks that are set to typically run between 3am and 5am. If you shut off your Mac at night and the series of tasks aren't allowed to run, your Mac's log files can grow very large and prevent system databases from getting backed up. With MacJanitor, you can run these scripts manually without having to use the Terminal to keep your Mac OS-X machine in top racing form. NOTE: THis is no longer required in Tiger OS-X 10.4.3 or higher.

MacTracker	Freeware
Requirements:	most Macs
Ian Page	http://www.mactracker.ca/
	Mactracker provides detailed information on every Apple Macintosh computer ever made, including items such as processor speed, memory, optical drives, graphic cards, supported Mac OS versions, and expansion options. Also included is information on Apple mice, keyboards, displays, printers, scanners, digital cameras, iPod, AirPort Base Stations, Newton, and Mac OS versions.

MenuCalendarClock-iCal	Freeware
Requirements:	Mac OS-X
Objectpark Software	menuCalendarClock@objectpark.net. http://www.objectpark.net/mcc.html
	MenuCalendarClock displays a monthly calendar including iCal events and 'to do' items in a drawer when the user clicks an icon located in the menu bar. Double-clicking on a day opens that day in iCal. Address Book birthdays can be merged into an iCal calendar. As a goodie, there is a configurable menu bar clock that can replace the apple clock. The drawer can be set to automatically close after a given number of seconds. Additional feature are available for a registration fee.

Meshwork	Shareware ($30)
Requirements:	Most Macs from 68k to OS-X
Joe Strout	joe@strout.net http://codenautics.com/meshwork/
	Meshwork is a 3D triangle-mesh modeling program for MacOS. It is designed especially for making compact, efficient objects for use in 3D games or on the web. It imports and exports several file formats, including DXF and optimized 3DMF. It can also be used to produce VRML for the web, models for POV-Ray ,sprites , models for OpenGL applications, and more. This 3D triangle-mesh modeling program was designed with the 3D game designer in mind. This program will allow you to create high-efficiency, low-polygon-count models for games and other applications where rendering speed is important.

Monolingual	Freeware
Requirements:	G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS-X
J. Schrier	jschrier@mac.com http://monolingual.sourceforge.net/
	Monolingual is a program for removing unnecesary language resources from Mac OS-X, in order to reclaim 160-200MB of disk space. It also speeds up OS-X by removing these unwanted languages.

Mouseposé	Shareware ($16.95)
Requirements:	OS-X
Boinx Software	sales@boinx.com http://www.boinx.com/mousepose/
	Mouseposé is a tool that is essential for everyone doing demos at tradeshows, presentations, trainings or those individuals with huge and high resolution displays. If turned on, Mouseposé dims the screen and puts a spotlight on the area around the mouse pointer, easily guiding the audiences attention or to quickly locate the mouse pointer. Also a number of other features that are useful during presentations.

MouseLocator	Freeware
Requirements:	Panther or Tiger
2point5fish	support@2point5fish.com http://www.2point5fish.com/
	Mouse Locator is a free tool that is a Highly visible locator instantly reveals your mouse position with a controllable trigger time period, from 1 second to 30 minutes. It eliminates the frustrating search of your screen for the mouse Especially during presentations.

Notebook	Shareware
Requirements:	Mac OS-X 10.3 or later
Circus Ponies Software	info@circusponies.com http://www.circusponies.com
	NoteBook helps you keep track of photos, e-mails, graphics, documents. Create project journals, directories, or portfolios. Clip images, e-mails, and news stories. Add formatted, searchable notes. Find anything using NoteBook's patented indexing technology.

Onyx	Freeware
Requirements:	Mac OS-X 10.4 or later (there are also Jaguar and Panther versions)
Titanium Software	info@circusponies.com http://www.titanium.free.fr/
	OnyX is a maintenance, optimization, and personalization utility for Mac OS X. It allows you to run misc tasks of system maintenance, to configure certain hidden parameters of the Finder, Dock, Safari, Dashboard, Exposé, Disk Utility... to delete cache, to remove a certain number of files and folders that may become cumbersome, to see the detailed info of your configuration, to preview the different logs and CrashReporter reports, and more. OnyX 1.7.0 is an Universal Binary application and works with all Macintosh PowerPC and Intel computers running Mac OS X version 10.4.x (Tiger). To run correctly, OnyX must be run from an admin account.

Onyx

Freeware

Requirements:

Mac OS-X 10.4 or later (there are also Jaguar and Panther versions)

Titanium Software

info@circusponies.com
http://www.titanium.free.fr/

OnyX is a maintenance, optimization, and personalization utility for Mac OS X. It allows you to run misc tasks of system maintenance, to configure certain hidden parameters of the Finder, Dock, Safari, Dashboard, Exposé, Disk Utility... to delete cache, to remove a certain number of files and folders that may become cumbersome, to see the detailed info of your configuration, to preview the different logs and CrashReporter reports, and more.

OnyX 1.7.0 is an Universal Binary application and works with all Macintosh PowerPC and Intel computers running Mac OS X version 10.4.x (Tiger). To run correctly, OnyX must be run from an admin account.

Photo to Movie	Shareware ($49.95)
Requirements:	OS-X
LQ Graphics, Inc.	software@lqgraphics.com http://www.lqgraphics.com/ software/phototomovie.php
	Add the dramatic "Ken Burns Effect" to any photo of your family, friends, teammates, or co-workers. Show the movie proudly on your big-screen TV, laptop -- even your website! It's fast, easy and FREE to try! Photo to Movie creates slide shows with motion effects, music, and captions. Burn your movies to DVD or publish to the web. It gives you custom control of your slide show and produces higher quality movies. Drag in some photos, adjust the motion and timing, add some music, render for DVD. You can add an unlimited number of music tracks and titles. You can also precisely control timing and record audio too.

POPmonitor	Shareware ($25)
Requirements:	Apple Macintosh computer with a PowerPC or Intel processor Mac OS 8.x, Mac OS 9.x or Mac OS X 10.x AppleScript system software (to communicate with your e-mail application) Stuffit Expander software (to process downloaded attachments) A connection to the Internet or to your local network A POP3 compatible e-mail account (POPmonitor does not work with Hotmail and AOL)
Vechtwijk Automatisering	support@popmonitor.com http://www.popmonitor.com/
	With POPmonitor you can take a peek inside your mailbox and delete unwanted e-mail without the need to download those messages first. Just login, select the unwanted messages and click 'Delete'. It's as simple as that. You can also automate the removal of unwanted messages by creating lists of trusted and blocked senders and by creating custom filters based on several criteria. Another option is to bounce spam right back to the sender to simulate a non-existing e-mail address.

Preferential Treatment	Freeware
Requirements:	Mac OS X 10.2+ with BSD Subsystem installed
Jonathan Nathan	jonn8@mac.com http://www.jonn8.com/html/pt.html
	This application will check your preference files (both in your user's preference folder and the system's preference folder) for corruption by using the "plutil" command line tool. If it finds suspect files, it will list the files and allow you to reveal them in the Finder or move them to the trash. You may also double-click on a file in the found files table to open it in the application of your choice (you can designate the default application from the preferences). There is also an option to save the results of a scan to a text file. (Note: if you trash a file before saving a report, the report will not include information on the file you moved to the trash.) "Preferential Treatment" is basically a GUI wrapped around the "plutil" command line tool provided by Apple Computer, Inc. since Mac OS X 10.2 (see "man plutil" in the Terminal). "plutil" just checks to see if .plist files are valid XML. This application is no panacea but it does help to fix blatantly corrupt preference files.

Printer Setup Repair	Shareware ($15)
Requirements:	G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS-X 10.2 or later
Fixamac Software	info@yellowmug.com http://www.fixamac.net
	This tool can fix incorrect permissions of printing-related files (a common source of printer errors), delete corrupted printer-related preferences and cashe files, and delete and reinstall printer drivers.

PrintWindow3	Freeware
Requirements:	OS-X
searchwaresolutions	http://www.searchwaresolutions.com/
	A file listing utility for Mac OS-X. Print listing for any Finder window with full control over listing appearance and contents. Also create CD or DVD cover inserts.

QuickErase	freeware
Requirements:	Panther or Tiger
vanwilligen	mac@vanwilligen.nl http://www.vanwilligen.nl/
	QuickErase is a helpful utility for erasing a cd or dvd in the finder. It is different from other erase utilities because it is especially made to live in the icon-bar in the finder window. It's strength is it's simplicity! You insert a cd or dvd and click once on the icon in the finder window.

Rapidweave	Shareware ($39.95)
Requirements:	Mac OS X 10.3.9 or newer
realmac software	http://www.realmacsoftware.com/rapidweaver/
	This application provides WYSIWYG web creation with many templates for theme based design, feature rich blogging, HTML and XHTML editing for professionals, Tiger iLife compatibility, and automatic FTP and .Mac uploading. A capable competitor to iWeb. A demo version can be tested before purchase, put it will only publish a few pages.

Rita

freeware

Requirements:

Panther or Tiger

vanwilligen

mac@vanwilligen.nl
http://www.vanwilligen.nl/

Rita is a paint program for MacOS X that attempts to be limitless, flexible and easy to use. Unlike traditional paint programs Rita does not restrict you to a particular image size or resolution. Instead, it uses an infinite canvas. You can make the image as big as you like and zoom in as much as you want without ever encountering any big blocky pixels.

Rita should work with MacOS X 10.3 and later. Rita has not yet been cross-compiled for x86-macs, I will do that as soon as I have upgraded my build system.

Rita is most fun when using a Wacom drawing board or a similar device.

SafariBookmarkChecker	Freeware (donations welcome)
Requirements:	Mac OS-X 10.3.9 or higher
Coriolis Technologies	info@coriolis.ch http://www.coriolis.ch/en/sbc/
	SafariBookmarkChecker allows you check the validity of your Safari Bookmarks, FAST !, i.e. it can check 1,000 bookmarks in less than 2 minutes on a 1GHz machine. It can also edit and modify the name and the url of your bookmarks.

SafariNoTimeout

Freeware

Requirements:

Safari 0.9 or newer

Unsanity

unsanity@unsanity.com
http://www.unsanity.com/haxies/snt

Safari, free web browser from Apple, suffers from a very short request timeout - 60 seconds. Some database-driven report pages and others fail to load because of that timeout. SafariNoTimeout is a haxie that allows you to change the connection request timeout in Safari to a different value (by default it sets it to 10 minutes).

SafariNoTimeout is an essential tool for any web developer or a user who has ever experienced an annoying 60 seconds timeout while waiting for a web page.

Secure FTP	Freeware
Requirements:	Mac OS X 10.3 or higher
Glub Tech, Inc.	secureftp@glub.com http://www.glub.com/products/secureftp/
	Secure FTP is a client application that allows for a 128-bit encrypted secure connection to be made to a server that supports FTP over SSL (or FTPS). The application can be run via its graphical user interface (GUI) or from the command-line interface (CLI), allowing for headless (scriptable) operation. This makes Secure FTP a great option for both novice and advanced users. The client is fully RFC 2228 compliant and offers both types of SSL connection options: explicit and implicit, which means more server compatibility. Secure FTP is free to use for noncommercial use. Webmaster Note: I use this FTP client for secure servers (some FTP clients are limited for this).

Site Studio	Freeware
Requirements:	Mac OS-X
Dot Software	dotsw@dotsw.com http://www.dotsw.com/sitestudio/index.html
	It is the ease and simplicity of Site Studio that makes it a leader of the web design revolution. From paper to web in minutes. From one look to another in seconds. Dynamic content plugins like a blog, an image gallery, and a WYSIWYG editor put it at the top of its class. It is the little features like one click dot mac and FTP uploading, intuitive interfaces, and simplicity that make your life that much better. Site Studio has all that and more. It remembers what it last uploaded and deletes what it doesn't overwrite so you don't have to. It allows you to change the name of your pages in the page list in just one click and much more.

ShutterBug	Shareware ($50)
Requirements:	Mac OS 10.3.9 or 10.4.2 or later
XtraLean Software	ginny@xtralean.com http://www.xtralean.com
	ShutterBug is a Web-site publishing tool for beginners to advanced users, and is made for Mac users only. Version 2.0 is a major upgrade to V1.2. It is a free upgrade to registered users and $50 for new users. This version lets users do much more with their Web content.

Still Life	Shareware ($24.95)
Requirements:	Mac OS-X
Granted Software	info@grantedsw.com http://www.grantedsw.com/still-life/
	Still Life is a stand-alone application that enables users to pan and zoom over digital images and thereby produce a video for use in iMovie, iDVD or any other multimedia project. The program goes way beyond the built-in Ken Burns Effect of iMovie by allowing users to take multiple "shots" of an image, pan along a curve and rotate the "camera" if needed.

SMARTReporter	Freeware
Requirements:	Mac OS X 10.3 ("Panther") or later ("Tiger" compatible) At least one ATA or S-ATA hard-drive
Julian Mayer	feedback@corecode.at http://www.corecode.at/smartreporter/
	SMARTReporter is an application that can warn you of ATA hard-drive failures before they actually happen! It does so by periodically polling the S.M.A.R.T.-status of your hard-drives. S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology) is a technology built into most modern hard-drives that acts as an "early warning system" for pending drive problems. Because SMARTReporter relies on the S.M.A.R.T. implementation of Mac OS X, it only supports ATA or S-ATA hard-drives.

SnapNDrag	Freeware
Requirements:	G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS-X 10.2 or later
Yellow Mug Software	info@yellowmug.com http://www.yellowmug.com
	This simple little tool lets you capture an image of whatever's on your Mac's screen. Just click a button to capture, and then drag the result from the interface to another app or to the Finder. You can have the app capture the entire screen, a window, or a selection. You can also choose to save the capture as a JPEG, PNG, or TIFF file. Works better than OS-X's Command-Shift-3 capture.

Snapz Pro X	Shareware ($69 full - $29 for still screen capture only)
Requirements:	G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS-X 10.2 or later
Ambrosia Software	help@ambrosiasw.com http://www.ambrosiasw.com
	Snapz Pro X is by far the most powerful, versatile, and easy to use screen capture solution for Mac OS-X. Whether you're writing online manuals that require visual examples, or simply recording video of your flight simulator dogfighting skills, Snapz Pro X is the ultimate utility for capturing moving or still pictures on Mac OS-X.

SnapWeb	Shareware ($17.90)
Requirements:	G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS-X 10.2 or later including Tiger
BrainTickling	BrainTickling@kagi.com http://braintickling.8k.com/snapweb.html
	SnapWeb creates complete screenshots of web pages even if the users screen isn't large enough to show the whole page content at once. The output isn't scattered to multiple pages or scaled down unless it is unreadable. The resulting images are saved as JPEG, PNG or PDF files.

SoundSource	Freeware
Requirements:	PowerPC or Intel; OS X 10.3.9 - 10.4.6
Rogue Amoeba Software	http://www.rogueamoeba.com/freebies/
	SoundSource is a tiny tool for OS X enabling you to switch your audio input and output sources with a single click. And with the System setting, you can transfer system beeps to a secondary audio source so you won't be disturbed.

Sound Studio	Shareware ($50)
Requirements:	Power Mac, Mac OS 8.1-9.x with CarbonLib or OS X 10.1.5 or later, QuickTime 4.1 or later
Felt Tip Software	http://www.felttip.com/products/soundstudio
	This cool and powerful audio app allows you to record and edit audio files on your Mac. It features plenty of tools to record audio from an input device or CD, edit waveforms, add effects (like chorus, flanger, reverb, EQ, compressor, expander, and gate), remove clicks and pops (great for digitizing your record collection!), and more.

SuperDuper!	Shareware ($19.95)
Requirements:	Mac OS-X 10.2.8 or later (including Tiger!)
Shirt Pocket	support@shirt-pocket.com http://www.shirt-pocket.com
	SuperDuper is an advanced, easy to use disk copying program available for OS X. It can make a straight copy, or "clone" -- useful when you want to move all your data from one machine to another, or do a simple backup. In moments, you can completely duplicate your boot drive to another drive, partition, or image file.

Temperature Monitor	Freeware
Requirements:	Mac OS X 10.3.8 or higher
Marcel Bresink Software-Systeme	http://www.bresink.com/contact.html http://www.bresink.com/osx/TemperatureMonitor.html
	Temperature Monitor is an application to read out all accessible temperature sensors in Macintosh computers. The program can visualize the history graphs of the readings, display measured values in a large variety of fashions, or announce readings by speech output. It can also store and export values. Temperature Monitor is the small gratis version of the application Hardware Monitor. Hardware Monitor can additionally display "non-temperature" sensors and artificial operating system probes, or control external LCD panels. Temperature Monitor is part of a software suite of 9 different monitoring applications which can be used for numerous purposes.

TextWrangler	Freeware
Requirements:	Mac OS X 10.3.5 or higher (use BBEdit lite for earlier systems)
Bare Bones Software	bbsw@barebones.com http://www.barebones.com/
	If you're a programmer, system administrator, or any breed of text jockey, you'll want TextWrangler for a spin - it's got all the textual mojo of the mighty BBEdit, lacking only the Web tools, but the best part is it's free!

Tiger Cache Cleaner	Shareware ($9.90)
Requirements:	Mac OS X 10.4 or higher
Northern Softworks	info@northernsoftworks.com http://www.northernsoftworks.com/tigercachecleaner.html
	Tiger Cache Cleaner is a utility designed to provide easy access to numerous OS X maintenance and utility options. When used in combination with OS X's disk repair tools, it can be very effective in curing many system problems. Tiger Cache Cleaner helps simplify system maintenance chores with an easy point and click interface to many OS X functions. Tiger Cache Cleaner can improve system performance by tuning internet and file caching settings and by implementing ram disks.

TinkerTool	Freeware
Requirements:	Mac OS-X
MBS	osxinfo@bresink.com http://www.bresink.de/osx/TinkerTool.html
	TinkerTool is an application that gives you access to additional preference settings Apple has built into Mac OS-X. This allows to activate hidden features in the operating system and in some of the applications delivered with the system. The tool makes sure that preference changes can only affect the current user. You don't need administrative privileges to use the tool. With this design, it is no problem to use TinkerTool in professional networks where users have restricted permissions. The program will never change any component of the operating system, so the integrity of your system is not put at risk, and there will be no negative effect on system updates. All preference settings changed by TinkerTool can be reset to Apple's defaults, or to the state that existed before using the tool. No dangerous background processes are used for TinkerTool's operation.

Unlockupd	Freeware
Requirements:	(Mac OS X 10.3 – 10.4 only
John Bafford	dshadow@zort.net http://www.dshadow.com/
	Unlockupd works around a bug in lookupd, a system service which is required for proper operation of Mac OS X. If lookupd fails, the system quickly becomes unusable. Unlockupd periodically checks lookupd's status and forces it to restart should it fail.

WindowShade X	Shareware ($15)
Requirements:	Mac OS-X 10.6
Unsanity	unsanity@unsanity.com http://www.unsanity.com
	WindowShade X provides an exciting and useful way of organizing your work on Mac OS X. With this handy tool, you can assign the following actions to the minimize button and a double-click on the window title: Minimize the window to the Dock, like always; "Windowshade" the window into a tiny strip to quickly peek below or get it out of the way; Minimize-In-Place the window so it becomes really small so you can move it out of the way yet still see what is going on; Make the window transparent so you can continue working in it while seeing things under it; Hide the application quickly; Do nothing and ignore the action (sometimes it is quite useful as well). These actions can be set on per-application basis so you can configure your workspace to be convenient for you - get more accomplished, and make it happen quicker!

XRay	Shareware ($10 for Jaguar and up)
Requirements:	G3 or faster Mac and Mac OS-X
Rainer Brockerhoff	rainer@brockerhoff.net http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/mac/12103
	If you're looking for a handy app to change file and/or folder attributes, this one can help. Get extended information for all of your OS-X stuff, including file type, creator, and extension info. The app is also expandable through its plug-in architecture. This app still functions under Snow Leopard but does not seem to be supported any more.

Xupport	Shareware ($19.90 for Jaguar and up)
Requirements:	Mac OS-X 10.3 or 10.4
Laurent Miller	help@computer-support.ch http://www.computer-support.ch
	If you hate the command line, this cool tool is a terrific option. Xupport provides a graphical user interface to Mac OS X's Unix core, allowing you to do many of the functions normally performed on the command line in the Terminal. With it, you can call up Unix tools to maintain, optimize, back up, clean, hack, enhance, and secure the OS.

Services for OS-X

Products mentioned during the September 2005 Presentation and in the May 2007 Presentation on Services.

Services Scrubber 1.0	Free
Peter Maurer	http://www.manytricks.com/servicescrubber/
	Wouldn't the services menu be much more useful if it weren't overcrowded by services you never even thought of using? With Service Scrubber, you can: restructure the services menu, change service keyboard shortcuts, and disable services. No longer needed for OS-X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) or later.

AppendNote 1.0	Free
Enigmarelle Development	http://www.macupdate.com/info.php /id/11537/appendnote-service
	Appends any selected text to a TextEdit file without opening a window or starting TextEdit (no screen cluttering!). The file name and location can be set by the user.

AtYourService	$15
Selznick Scientific Software	http://www.selznick.com
	Offers a number of online services to apply to selected text. Includes Language translation, Lookup in Dictionary or Thesaurus, Search on the internet with various engines, and technical (programming) manipulations.

LargeType	Free
Cold Pizza Software	http://www.coldpizzasoftware.com/largetype/
	LargeType is a Mac OS X service that displays any selected text in large type similar to the large type option in Address Book.

Terminal Services 1.0	Free
Stas Pietrucha	http://homepage.mac.com/stas/ terminalservices.html
	Allow you to run unix commands that you find and select (for example on the internet in sites like MAGIC) as if you had a terminal open.

WordService 1.0	Free
Devon Technology Development	http://www.devon-technologies.com/
	Provides a number of formatting options for selected text. Also sorts lines of text. Find it on the Downloads page. Note that Devon Technologies also supply a number of other free Services that might be worth looking at.

Commercial Software for Emergencies

Products mentioned during the August 2004 Presentation.

Data Backup X	$49
Requirements:	OS-X
Prosoft Engineering	http://www.prosoftengineering.com
	Backup application. Also can perform incremental backups (only the files that have changed since the last backup - saves a lot of time).

Drive Genius	$99.95
Requirements:	Mac OS X 10.5.3 or higher
Prosoft Engineering	http://www.prosofteng.com
	Drive Genius is an OS X utility designed to provide unsurpassed storage management. Featuring an easy-to-use interface, Drive Genius is packed with powerful tools such as a drive optimizer, a comprehensive repair facility for analyzing, repairing and rebuilding volumes, plus excellent testing capabilities with media surface scanning, performance benchmarking and data integrity checking. It can be used to initialize drives, create and delete partitions, and erases them securely as per Department of Defenses standard. Drive Genius can also hide partitions and duplicate volumes or drives swiftly. Last but not least, Drive Genius features advanced tools for resizing and moving of volumes without reformatting, and sports a sector editing tool to modify the data on any sector of the drive - powerful features that will satisfy even the seasoned Mac experts.

DiskWarrior	$80
Requirements:	Mac OS-9 and/or OS-X
alsoft	http://www.alsoft.com
	Disk Repair Utility.

Internet Cleanup	$29.95
Requirements:	OS-X
Allume	http://www.allume.com/mac/index.html
	Protects your computer from Spyware. Trojan Horses, and other unauthorized transmissions. Also cleans up most invisible Internet data sets such as cookies and cashes.

Norton AntiVirus	from $49.95
Requirements:	Mac OS-9 and/or OS-X
Symmantec	http://www.symantec.com/norton/products /charts/comparison.jsp?pcid=ma
	Protects your computer from attacks by viruses.

TechTool Pro	$98
Requirements:	Mac OS-9 and/or OS-X
	Micromat	http://www.micromat.com
	Disk repair utility plus.

VirusScan for Mac	$109.65 for 3 copies
Requirements:	OS-X
Network Associates'	http://www.mcafee.com/us/small/products/ virusscan_for_mac/virusscan_for_mac.html
	Guard your Macintosh computers and users against all types of viruses and malicious code, even new unknown threats with McAfee VirusScan® for Mac, which integrates with McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator® for efficient network-wide security management.

Selected Commercial Graphic Software

Products mentioned during the October 2004 Presentation.

Canvas	$350
Requirements:	OS-X
Deneba	http://www.deneba.com
	This Application creates and edits both vector and raster (bitmap) graphics. It also created animations. Canvas accepts and uses most filter plug-ins. New version (11) not available for Macs)

Photoshop Elements	$79.99
Requirements:	OS-9, OS-X
Adobe	http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelmac/main.html
	This Application is the most economical of the Photoshop series of products and will satisfy the needs of most MAGIC members. It creates and edits raster (bitmap) graphics. Photoshop Elements accepts and uses most filter plug-ins.

Carrera 3D Basics	$50
Requirements:	OS-X
	Eovia	http://www.daz3d.com/program/carrara/carrara_basics/
	This Application is the most economical of the 3D modeling packages. It is fully functional and is a great program to learn how to do 3D graphics and animation. Highly recommended - should satisfy most MAGIC members needs.

Bryce	$99.95
Requirements:	OS-8.6 or greater, OS-X
DAZ	http://www.daz3d.com/program/bryce/
	Create breathtakingly realistic 3D landscapes and animations with DAZ Bryce 5. Striking an optimum balance between power and ease of use, this innovative software is an ideal way to integrate 3D technology into your creative process. Smooth network rendering saves valuable time by letting you render images on multiple computers. The Light Lab gives you robust control over lighting direction, and the Tree Lab ensures a more accurate depiction of real-world environments. Plus, an intuitive user interface simplifies the design process.

Flash MX	$699
Requirements:	OS-X
Macromedia	http://www.macromedia.com
	This Application is a Vector animation package that is often used for interactive graphic animations for the web. Because it uses vectors it produces files that use very small amount of memory - ideal for web publications. It is a bit expensive but very effective.