There are a handful of things that I have launch at startup on my MacBook. I had my favorites that booted up on XP as well, but these little jewels are the tools that I use all day.
1. Meterologist - I have tried several different weather tools on the mac but this is the one that I like the most. It’s nice and compact, but unfolds to offer an extended forecast for the next several days and a radar image of the current conditions.
2. Mailplane - I looked at this a while back and thought it was interesting but not necessarily great. Recently I ran across it again on Simple Help and gave it a second look. Boy was I wrong about this little program. It allows you use gmail as your default email app in a stand alone browser. It manages multiple email accounts for easy switching. Mailplane offers drag and drop uploading and a default folder for attachment downloads. Tight integration with iPhoto’s send photo option and the ability to take a screenshot and immediately email it to someone make this my email client of choice. Oh and did I mention that if you use google apps for your domain that it will handle those accounts as well?
3. Last FM - This is a far cry from a productivity tool, but I leave it runing all the time. It updates my Last.fm account so that my friends can see what I’m listening to lately and the service can recommend new music for me. It also uploads all of my iPod songs when I plug it in. Also allows easy access to Last.fm streaming music.
4. Skitch - I found Skitch while listening to Macbreak Weekly. This is a fantastic little app that gives you a variety of screenshot tools. I can’t describe it all here, but you should download it and try it out.
5. Quicksilver - If you are using a Mac and you haven’t already installed Quicksilver, you should stop what you are doing right now, download it and then come back and read this later. This app is an app launcher, a quick email tool, a way to access bookmarks, and so much more. When I sit down at a Mac I have to think about how to use rather than just use it.
6. Alarm Clock - There are several programs out there that let you use your Mac as an alarm, but this one fre, flexible, and full featured. It allows you to set a one time or repeating alarm. It uses your iTunes library for the alarm source. Also it has an ascending alarm feature that lets you wake up gently, rather than jerked awake by your rock and roll wake up call.
7. Plaxo - Plaxo is a webservice that synchronizes your data across multiple platforms. It syncs contacts, calendars, tasks, and notes, with iCal, Addressbook, Google, Yahoo, MSN, AOL, Outlook, Outlook Express, and certain mobile phones. It also has a mobile version that you can access on your phone’s browser. The day this service has a client for the blackberry, I will be more that willing to shell out 50 bucks a year for this service.
Check all these out, they are sure to please. I also have a few invitations to Mailplane, if you are interested please leave a comment. First come first serve!
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