Category Archives: Freeware

Proteus

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You may remember this post where i mentioned that iChat is great. But, it in fact as I said, doesn’t support Yahoo! which I now really need. So I turn to Adium, but the interface just bothers me. Why? I really have no idea. But, I lived with it, and one day it refused to connect to Yahoo!. Below is a list of the only good multi-protocol IM clients for Mac.
Adium
Fire
Instandbird
Proteus

So Adium won’t connect to Yahoo!. Off the list.
Fire as discontinued development, and I don’t want an updateless application.
Instantbird is a little too purist, with contact list, chat.
Hmm Proteus? Never tried it.

Wow. It connects to everything. It looks great. It operates great. The interface is nice. And best of all, the dock icon rocks. And I think I know why I didn’t like Adium–there was always a bird watching me a flapping it’s wings when I got a new message. Luckily, with proteus when I get a new message, the dock icon just bounces.

Proteus is the one IM application for Mac that I can live with. Yes, there is Pidgin, but that requires using the fin library and X11 (which trust me, don’t even try). The interface is simple, it connects to everything, it has options.

So Proteus is changing some of their sites, so the links to get extra stuff are all broken. I’m sure that will be fixed in the future, but the interface is still amazing, simple and functional. That’s why I like this more than the others: No flapping ducks, simple and easy but customizable interface, frequent updates, and connects to everything no problem. And that’s why it’s better than Adium, Instandbird, and fire.

Download
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Mail.appetizer

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESevkOA2DCo&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999]
This is one of the best plug-in for mail in existence.

Those Microsoft Outlook users, [you really need to get a mac!] are familiar of when you receive a new email it shows a notification box saying that you have a new email and it gives you a little bit of info like some (or all) of the message, the sender, subject, and even more (i don’t remember, I stopped caring about outlook when i got a Mac). Well, people may want to see what the message is when they hear the message indicator from the mail app. That’s what this is. The version(s) for Leopard and tiger are in beta, but let me say–it ROX. No, not “rocks”, ROX”. when I get an email, i see a little box in the top right of my screen (you can click and drag the box to where you want the notification to appear) that has the sender, subject, and as much of the message as i want. you can change transparency, and in fact a lot. here is a screenshot of the preferences.

So now when I get an email, I have a little window that shows if it’s worth checking or leaving for later.

Yes, that’s it. I love it because hey, I have new mail! I’m too lazy or I’m busy so I can’t open the Mail application to check it. But what if it’s important? How should I know? Mail.appetizer. It is also incredibly customizable.
Incoming mail at a glance–Mail.appetizer

Homepage

Download for Leopard (beta)

Butler

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At your service, for no cost at all! Sorry, PC users, this Mac essential is only for Macs. Butler is cabable of doing many things. It can show the iTunes song, bring up a google search window, and do a spotlight kind of search. But those I truly don’t need, and the reason I love this so much is because of one feature: Multiple pasteboards. I can copy one thing, then copy another. usually this would wipe the last copy, but if you have pasteboards enabled then it will remember it. You can also set a limit of how many pasteboards you want it to remember. you can open the pasteboards menu by assigning a keyboard shortcut or opening it from the menu. I prefer keyboard shortcuts because I have things I need to do, and clicking on things doesn’t speed up the process. I assigned option>Command>V because it is like paste with the option key. this will open a small window with things you have copied. Each thing you have copied will be numbered, and the most recent will be 0. Just press the number on your keyboard to paste it. Of all features, this is definitely the best–and the only one I use. But, I do still use the google search feature. But I must say that the configuration window is kinda hard to figure out. But just look through the help file. I now see why it is called help. Get multiple pasteboards and more-Butler.

MindNode

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTCVGIQyrh4&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0]

Finally, something free, and simple (and for Mac!). MindNode is a really simple and easy way to create MindMaps. MindNode can also even export to many filetypes, including TIFF, PNG, and PDF. Remember: This is supposed to be the most simplistic mind mapping software in existence (which it is), so there aren’t any super advanced features. there’s add node, get rid of a node, save a document, zoom in, and well, I can’t exactly say etcetera. Below is a mind map I made with MindNode about mindnode.

(Click to enlarge)
As you can see, there is a central/topic node, and when you hover over it, there is a + that appear. Click and drag to make a node off of it.

(Zoomed in)
Just click and drag the plus to create a new node.
(Zoomed In)
You can create nodes off of nodes, and you can create as many nodes you want off of nodes. Off of Example, I could create 100 nodes. off of those nodes, I could create 100 nodes. and off of those hundred nodes on the hundred nodes, I could make a hundred more nodes Wow, I’m confusing myself!). This is demonstrated very well in the official MindNode example picture available on the MindNode site.
(Click to enlarge)
As stated on the MindNode website,
“MindNode is an easy-to-use mind mapping application for the Macintosh to help visually:
  • collect, classify and structure ideas.
  • Organize, study and solve problems.

Mind maps can be used for many different tasks – including to-do-lists, brainstorming, holiday planning, research, writing, project management – and in many different environments – school, meetings, workspace.”

And I agree. It’s streamlined, and is just great. I could very easily use this in school, for brainstorming, planning, and I know many people who would want a way to plan out holidays, and this is what I would recommend.
Overall, I give this 5 stars for easy-to-useness, simpleness and elegance. Someone with no computer experience or knowledge at all would be able to learn it in less than a minute.
Easy and simple mind mapping software–MindNode.

Google Chrome (Dev Release)

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This one is not a necessity. Why, because it’s in developer release. It’s a little slow and incomplete.
I have in fact been waiting for the official Chrome to come out for Mac (not CrossOver Chronium!!), and here is the Dev release. It does have some of the features as the Windows version, but let’s compare them side-by-side. First thing, it’s grey. Too grey. I like the blue, and having a blue one would be nice. Second, th File and Settings buttons were fropped for the menus in the Mac menubar. Also, no SpellCheck as demonstrated in the spelling of menubar. The tabbing system seems about the same, butI don’t know if each tab is a different process like on the windows version. Also, it is overall a little bit clunkier. For example, when loading a page, next to the name of the site in the tab it should show a little spinny thingy. in this dev version, the sinny thingy freezes. Also, when you boot an app it usully bouncesin the dock a couple of times. Nope. Nada (where is the spellcheck?!?!). But wow, it takes up absolutely no CPU at all! Also, the dev version comes with no flash: the reason I am not going to use it as my primary Web Browser. But there is 1 big good thing about this: it means an even better version should be on the way (I hope)! PLEASE DO NOT DOWNLOAD THIS! Unless of course you are a developer or take great pleasure in incomplete, unpredictable, and potentially crashing software. Download for Mac OS X right here!

Pandora

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L9ef4cMitA&hl=en&fs=1&]
This is probably one of the most well known web applications in the existence of existing. Pandora[.com] is a free (with a few ads) internet radio that quote “Plays only music you like”. First, put in your favorite song/artist (no registration required, but registration keeps track of all your stations for use on other devices). It will then find tracks like the artist or song you put in, and will make a “station”out of it called “[Artist/song here]”. Then, it will play a track with very close qualities to the artist/song you put in. You can them select thumbs down or thumbs up to modify the station. It will play constantly for about an hour and then say “Are you still listening?”. To avoid this, just click something over there. It only does that when it thinks you aren’t there and the app stays motionless for 1 hour. You can have LOTS of stations, I don’t know the maximum (if there is one). And with Fluid (clickable) you can turn it into a desktop application. What else could you ask for? No ads! To do this, you need to subscribe to pandora ($$). Ever hear music playing through my live feed? A lot of the time it’s pandora. Also, you can even create stations based on genre.

Links:

OpenOffice.org

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There is Microsoft Office and iWork, but this site is only freeware. OpenOffice is a completely free office program which features everything you need, including compatibility with all of the Microsoft Office files. It has a word processor Writer (Word/Pages), Calc for creating spreadsheets (Excel/Numbers), Impress for creating presentations (PowerPoint/Keynote), Draw for creating things like designs (Not in MSO or iWork), and Base, for creating databases (Not in MSO or iWork). OpenOffice is made by Sun, and here is the best part: it works for EVERY operating system imaginable. Say you run a business and you want to straighten out your budget. Bam. Just use OpenOffice. The software is easy to use, and really straightforward. Really struggling with money? Switch to Ubuntu, and Ubuntu even comes with OpenOffice. Also, if you have just switched to a new operating system and you need to start with office documents fast, just use OpenOffice. I have OpenOffice installed on all of my Windows 7 computers, which in fact, does include my MacBook. I installed it on my HP as well. Sorry, it was just rumored to be so much better and it was free, so what the heck. Why not. OpenOffice is great for someone who is a publisher, hi-tech business employee, freeware fanatic, or just someone who needs to write something down, make a presentation, letter, database, spreadsheet, or design. Or even someone with every single operating system imaginable. Easy free office pack- Openoffice.org.

My Oats

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otzvfjT59Os&hl=en&fs=1]
Not what you think. This Web Service Is for creating your own wallpaper images.

This pretty much takes your mouse patterns which you draw and puts them into a cool symmetrical pattern. Many modes, many things you can do with it. You can select specific colors for the design as well as the background of it. And even, you can put it into photoshop and stick I don’t know, a logo into it (click for Good Morning Geek My Oats wallpaper!)? This is fun, and easy to do even with your eyes closed!
A cool thing about this is that it can link to a couple of other things.
1. It uses colors. and if you want to know what your color is, try out colourism.com! Simple. Put in your name and date and birth and it will tell you your color and complimentary color. That’s how I made that GMGMOWP (Good Morning Geek My Oats WallPaper) I mentioned above.
2. It doesn’t need to be a web app. What about Fluid (clickable)? It will become your own desktop application. I did try it using a web archive file and downloading doesn’t work. What’s the purpose of making a wallpaper if you can’t use it?
My Oats requires Adobe Flash player.
Free, online, no registration required!

iStat

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O-MXWa-XQ8&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0]

Some people who have followed my other blog Good Night Geek before it turned into an iPhone app review blog may have seen my post about MenuMeters. I have found an even better alternative though. iStat menus is a form of one of my favorite dashboard widgets called iStat (download link at the bottom). This is in menu form, but unlike MenuMeters, gives you a lot more info, such as temperatures and fan speeds. Also for you multi-core users, there is a separate CPU meter for each core. Finally, some definition between two cores. Also, I can monitor things like how fast my fan is running (for me it’s usually about 2000 RPM). You can also see why your computer is making far more noise than it usually is. I know. I’ll take a good look at my iStat menus. Wow, my temperature is almost 100ºF (you can change it form F to C to K), and Wow, my fan is running 3 times faster than usual at a blasted 6200 RPM! Now I know. I have my primary temperature (the one that appears in the menubar) as the enclosure bottom, but I can have it configured so it shows the temperature of well, almost anything! The nice thing is that if you want to monitor multiple temperatures, just choose the most important one as the primary and to look at any of the temps, just click the temperature in the menubar. it will then give you details of everything in your computer that has a heat sensor including CPU(s), Heatsinks, batteries, and even the bottom of your computer (enclosure bottom). It groups fans and power together, so if you click on the fan speed in my case, I can see how many watts everything is using and how fast my fans are going. Click on my CPU info and I can see a lot of info about what is taking up the most CPU, uptime, and even a button to open activity monitor. There is much more you can put up there in many different ways, But I already have a lot of stuff in the menubar and that does not work good with photoshop because of how many menus it has.

BUT HOLD EVERYTHING!
Now you can even check it out on your iPhone or iPod touch! All you need to do is download iStat server (free!) and install the iStat app on your iPhone ($1.99). Then, open the iStat server on your mac. It will give you a passcode. Next, open the iStat app on your iPhone. If you are connected to wifi, just select your computer and type/tap in the passcode. Or, you can simply click add and type in the IP address of your computer. After that, tap your Mac in the menu and bam. You will see Fan, network, CPU, uptime, and everything else that you could see on the computer itself. This will be viewable from anywhere as long as your computer isn’t asleep/offline. What’s going on inside your mac-iStat menus and server.
iStat menus
iStat server and iPhone
iStat Dashboard widget

Qumana

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Well, I think many of us long-time blog readers remember ecto. Well, that now has to be paid for. So I am hunting all over the web for another one because ecto now costs money. I had tried some that wouldn’t install right, but I finally found one. Qumana has a fairly old style, but really When it posts to the blog, gets the job done. when it posts to the blog, you wouldn’t really realize it was done with a fairly old style blog editor. It has all of the features as the blogger web interface, but has one big feature: saving to your hard drive. This means I can create posts even when I’m not connected to the internet, but I can publish them when I get an internet connection. Qumana is able to connect to multiple blogs of many sorts. The setup consists of entering your blog URL and credentials then selecting the blogs that you would like to be able to post to via Qumana. you can even insert an ad! Sadly, that is only compatible with adGenta, which I have no use in. But there is in fact one big flaw: the spell check is outdated. in fact, it only accepts internet as Internet. I don’t know if. this is correct of incorrect spelling, but from what I have collected internet is valid. Easy to use blog post editor: Qumana.
Home Page
Download for Windows
Download for Leopard
Download for Linux

Mactracker

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC62nggALlA&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0]Ever wondering how that old Mac you got 10 years ago sounded right when it turned on, just to remember what it was like? Ever wanted to see how much RAM that first mac that ever existed had? That is exactly what Mactracker is for. It is a free easy app, that gives you info an every single apple product in existence. In fact, for many it has the available startup chime and even death chime that you can play right out of your speaker system. It gives you history, If it is still supported, memory, RAM, ports, and everything else you could imagine including OS version and Finder version. It is really that simple. When I say it shows every apple product, I mean laptops, iPods, iPhones, Desktops, Cameras, Printers, and even Newton models! Who knew that the MessagePad 2000 had a code name of Q, 5 MB of RAM, and ran Newton OS 2.1, and was available in english and german? All of that and more came from a single window in Mactracker. and lucky for everyone out there, it’s available for windows too! there is also a FREE iPhone app of it that features all of the features from the desktop app, but lacks the history feature. In fact, the Apple genius training class in cupertino uses this app, and that is where I found out about it. Apparently they use it so much they even have a dock icon for it! Info on every single Apple product: Mactracker.