http://www.videolan.org/ is one of those programs that makes everything better. Give it any kind of file at all--avi, mp4, ogg, mp3, mov, literally anything at all--and VLC will play the hell out of it. Also the latest release of the mac version integrates beautifully with the OS, making it far sexier than the bundled Quicktime or any other option. If you watch any video at all on your mac, you need to get VLC. Download it "here":http://www.videolan.org/vlc/. Previous _Killer Apps for Mac_: "Adium":http://duenos.net/article/129/killer-apps-for-mac-adium, "Sidenote":http://duenos.net/article/111/killer-apps-for-mac-sidenote, "Darwiin Remote":http://duenos.net/article/193/KillerAppsforMacDarwiinRemote, "Mac Pilot":http://duenos.net/article/174/KillerAppsforMacMacPilot, "Disk Inventory X":http://duenos.net/article/163/KillerAppsforMacDiskInventoryX, "Tangerine":http://duenos.net/article/150/KillerAppsforMacTangerine, "SizzlingKeys":http://duenos.net/article/119/killer-apps-for-mac-sizzlingkeys, and "Vienna Reader":http://duenos.net/article/204/KillerAppsforMacViennaReader.

http://www.firefox.com because I read a lot of news-feeds on a "daily basis":http://duenos.net/alex, and Safari's integrated reader kicks butt. Packed full of "features":http://www.opencommunity.co.uk/vienna_features.php, Vienna Reader is a freeware feed reader that replaces and multiplies the functionality of any other RSS program, including Safari. It has a great Mail-like interface that is intuitive and just simple enough to use without being ungainly. It's also very customizable, although I ended up going back to the default settings a few days into using the program, and the built-in browser is nice for when you don't really want to open up Firefox to look at a link. If you get any of your news from RSS or ATOM feeds, you need to try Vienna Reader. If you don't, you should start by "downloading":http://www.opencommunity.co.uk/vienna2.php Vienna and "subscribing":http://feeds.feedburner.com/Duenosnet to Duenos.net. Previous _Killer Apps for Mac_: "Adium":http://duenos.net/article/129/killer-apps-for-mac-adium, "Sidenote":http://duenos.net/article/111/killer-apps-for-mac-sidenote, "Darwiin Remote":http://duenos.net/article/193/KillerAppsforMacDarwiinRemote, "Mac Pilot":http://duenos.net/article/174/KillerAppsforMacMacPilot, "Disk Inventory X":http://duenos.net/article/163/KillerAppsforMacDiskInventoryX, "Tangerine":http://duenos.net/article/150/KillerAppsforMacTangerine, and "SizzlingKeys":http://duenos.net/article/119/killer-apps-for-mac-sizzlingkeys.

Gamers rejoice! If you are one of the lucky bunch who snagged a Nintendo Wii in recent months, “Darwiin Remote”:http://sourceforge.net/news/?group_id=183966 is a neat, helpful program that utilizes your Mac’s Bluetooth technology to read the Wiimote’s signals and utilize them for good and awesome. For example, Darwiin Remote can map the Wiimote’s buttons to your keyboard, making it easy to use the Wiimote as a wireless controller for emulating video games, a method for navigating a slideshow while standing at a podium, or a control for iTunes when sitting on the couch studying.
http://sourceforge.net/news/?group_id=183966.

Mac Pilot gives you amazing control of your Mac–literally hundreds of unadvertised options (many of which require deeper knowledge of Unix and the Terminal) become readily available to you.
http://www.koingosw.com/products/macpilot.php.

If you ever wonder what your hard drive looks like, this is your chance to find out. “Disk Inventory X”:http://www.derlien.com/ analyzes your hard drive and creates an interactive graphical representation of all the information stored on it. I’ve used this program for a long time to figure out how to create more space on my iBook’s 80 gb hard drive, pictured below. It’s fun to see how your computer works, and with the great price (free) there’s no excuse to not try it out.
http://windirstat.info/ and "Linux":http://kdirstat.sourceforge.net/.

http://www.potionfactory.com/tangerine/ for more info.

http://duenos.net/article/111/ and "SizzlingKeys":http://duenos.net/article/119/, a lot of people use Adium. This popular iChat replacement is fully customizable instant messaging program that supports AIM, Bonjour, MSN, G-Talk, etc... In fact, I have no idea what most of those icons actually represent, but you can be assured that Adium does. I've been using Adium for years and love the way that it is integrated into OS X with so many visual styles and features. The only thing missing is video support. To learn more about Adium, go their "website":http://www.adiumx.com or to their "extras site":http://www.adiumxtras.com/. Also see other Killer Apps for Mac entries on "Sidenote":http://duenos.net/article/111/ and "SizzlingKeys":http://duenos.net/article/119/.

Continuing in my series on applications that Mac OS X amazing, SizzlingKeys puts full iTunes controls at your fingertips regardless of what application you’re in. There are other programs that offer this ability, but I think SizzlingKeys is the best. With just a keystroke (that you can set yourself) you can pause, play, switch tracks, change the volume, mute, or even search your iTunes library. The best part of it all, like all of my “Killer Apps” choices, is that it’s free. Go to the “SizzlingKeys website”:http://www.yellowmug.com/sk4it/ to download your copy and try it out.
Here is a picture of the floating status window in action on my desktop.
This entry was posted in Original Duenos and tagged apple, apps on April 4, 2007 by .