I thought it was about time I post some applications that I have found really usefully but aren’t very well known. Have a read, add to them and let me know what you think in the forums. 1. Sofa Control All Mac’s come with a standard Apple remote, however the Apple remote won’t always work […]
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5 Mac Apps You May Not Have Known About

Jun 30th 2008 by

I thought it was about time I post some applications that I have found really usefully but aren’t very well known. Have a read, add to them and let me know what you think in the forums.

1. Sofa Control
All Mac’s come with a standard Apple remote, however the Apple remote won’t always work with all your applications. I found Sofa Control solves that problem. It allows me to use my Apple remote with applications that aren’t usually supported, such as: VLC, Microsoft Powerpoint, Firefox, Google Earth & more than 40 others. Its a great little application that lets me take control of my Mac from a distance. Sofa Control uses a specialized Front Row inspired user interface that allows the user to switch between documents and applications with ease and simplicity. At $15 its a pretty sweet investment. Sofa Control Homepage

2. Caffeine
Do you often find yourself in a situation where you need your Mac’s screen to stop dimming, but cant be bothered changing your default settings constantly. Caffeine is a program that wakes up your mac. Maybe your watching a Youtube video or spinning around the globe on Google Earth. If you not touching the keyboard your screen is most likely (especially if your using an unplugged macbook) going to dim. Click the little Caffeine icon at the top of your menu bar and hey presto, problem solved. Caffeine is a free app, one of those ones that really comes in handy when you least expect it. Download it here: Caffeine Homepage.

3. Perian
Perian is less of an application and more of a plug-in. Once installed Perian allows you to pretty much watch all the unusual video codects in Quicktime. Everything from Avi, Xvid, Dvix, & FLV to MKV & H.264. Its for those Mac users who love to use official Apple applications and products wherever possible. However, if you like using VLC then you probably wont ever need this. Perian is also a free download and available at the Perian Homepage.

4. Zipeg
If your downloading a lot of compressed files from all over the place Zipeg is probably your kind of application. Zipeg unlike Apples standard extracting application supports more than the usual amount of compressed file types. It will pretty much extract anything you throw at it. Its also a great compression tool if you’ve got something that you want to send. Its also looks great and is really easy to use! Download it free at the Zipeg homepage.

5. XNJB
For those of us that don’t have or use iPods XNJB is really the only application that lets us connect our non-Apple mp3 devices to our Macs. Its mainly made for Creative mp3 players but I’m pretty sure it may work with other mp3 players as well. At the moment the program is pretty under-developed but there is really no other options. If you’ve found one let me know. Until then check it out at the XNJB homepage. Oh and its also free!

Well that’s it for now. Hopefully you’ve learnt something new today Mactropolis Citizens. I’ll be doing more of these posts soon, so keep your eyes pealed.

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