Applescript to minimize all application and finder windows
I created an applescript, Minimize, that will minimize all application and finder windows. The best way to use it is to assign a Quicksilver trigger to it. Do so by calling it via osascript and run it in a shell.
- Open Quicksilver, then type (command-’) to open the custom triggers section
- Add a new command by clicking the plus sign at the bottom of the window
- Type . (dot) to put it into edit mode
- Type ‘osascript /path/to/minimize.scpt’
- Hit tab and choose “run command in shell.”
- Assign a trigger to it (I use shift-command-w)
Download Minimize (right click, save link as)
Note: If you don’t want to do this using an applescript, you can do the same thing with a couple of extra steps: command-tab to the finder, then hit option-command-h followed by option-command-m.
ID3 Editor
What are ID3 tags?
ID3 is a metadata container, generally associated with the mp3 files. These tags keep track of all the relevant information for a song: artist, album, track title, genre, etc. They are the bits that audio hardware and software use to let you know what’s playing.
The iTunes problem
iTunes is Apple’s flagship piece of software, and is largely unavoidable if you use an iPod. The software has decent support for ID3 tags — it can read them, but doesn’t do the greatest job writing them. Any changes that you make to a track’s info gets stored in the wonderful XML file that iTunes uses, rather than the mp3 file itself. It becomes a problem if you lose that XML file, or use a non-Apple device to listen to music. All the hard work maintaining your library becomes irrelevant.
Enter ID3 Editor
ID3 Editor offers a simple and elegant solution for proper tag editing. It allows you to edit individual tracks and perform batch edits (ie for changing an album name across multiple files). The software would be particularly useful for podcasters that want to include artwork, copyright and url data for the mp3. There is also a script included that allows you to open a track from within iTunes, saving you the trouble of having to find the file. The trial download is full-featured but has a time-limit, afterwards the software will set you back $12US.
Check out Journler
From the Journler website: Journler is a daily notebook and entry based information manager. Scholars, teachers, students, professors, scientists, thinkers, the business minded and writers of every persuasion use it on a daily basis to connect the written word with the media most important to them.
I recently wrote about iGTD, which is a great GTD application. Well, Journler can also be used as a GTD application, plus it does so much more. Here is a list of features:
- Word processing capabilities
- Audio, video and photo entries
- iLife integration: iPhoto, iTunes, iMovie and Safari bookmarks as well as iWeb, Mail and Address Book support
- Awesome importing/exporting capabilities
- Print and export a single entry, collections of entries, or any date range
- The Lexicon for discovering connections between your entries
- The Drop Box and JPanel for getting stuff in
It’s definitely worth a download.
Essential Software
A few o my friends have recently switched from pc to Mac, and most of them probably haven’t heard of a lot of the good software that’s out there. This post is for them (and you). To follow is a list of software with descriptions that I have on my MBP. This list doesn’t include browsers, instead see this post.
Adium
I use Adium every day without fail. It’s a chat client that works with most chat services, including Google Talk.
AppDelete
Quite often when you delete an application (by dragging it into the trash) associated files won’t get deleted. But if you drag applications to AppDelete instead, all the associated files will be deleted. This is especially important if you’re constantly evaluating new software like me.
Audacity
Audacity is an audio editor that you can use to record new audio or edit existing audio. I don’t use it all that often, but it’s an important part of my arsenal.
dead.licious
I’m a huge del.icio.us user (del.icio.us/tparlin), so any software I find that makes my del.icio.us experience a little better, I love! That’s exactly what dead.licious does by finding all the dead links in my list of del.icio.us bookmarks.
iGTD
I love iGTD, it’s a “getting things done,” which is the new way of saying that it’s a todo app. I personally like todo app, it’s smaller, easier to say and way less buzzy. Anyway, you can organize your tasks by context or by project, add notes to tasks and synchronize to your mobile or PDA device. But the greatest thing about iGTD is that you can assign tasks to yourself using Quicksilver. If you don’t know what Quicksilver is, don’t worry, it’s a little further down in my list.
iPod Music Liberator
Just as the name suggests, this little application liberates music from an iPod and lets you install it on your computer. It’s perfect for anyone who may have lost their hard drive in a terrible fishing accident or what have you. But in all the history of iPod software, there has never been a cooler name for an application than the iPod Music Liberator!
Mailplane
Ever wished you could have a google mail client that runs locally on your mac? If so, then you want to get yourself a copy of Mailplane. I believe you have to sign up to become a beta user (but here’s a hint, I emailed them and begged for it and they sent me a copy), so perhaps they’ll do the same for you. It’s got some great features and amazing support for sending screen captures, definitely worth a look.
NetNewsWire
NetNewsWire is THE feed reader for the mac. From their website: NetNewsWire has a familiar three-paned interface - similar to Apple Mail - and can fetch and display news from thousands of different websites and weblogs, making it quick and easy to keep up with the latest news. You can also download podcasts and audio files and have them show up on your portable audio device.
Paparazzi
Paparazzi is a utility for making screenshots of websites. There’s not much else to say about it except that it works great.
Quicksilver
As is says on the website, Quicksilver is a unified, extensible interface for working with applications, contacts, music, and other data. It’s hard to explain Quicksilver, but once you’ve used it, you’ll wonder how you ever used your Mac without it. If you’re looking for some ideas on how you can use Quicksilver, here is everything you ever wanted to know.
Snapz Pro X
Using Snapz Pro X you can make screencasts and screenshots of your desktop. From the Snapz Pro X website: Snapz Pro X 2 allows you to effortlessly record anything on your screen, saving it as a QuickTime® movie or screenshot that can be emailed, put up on the web, or passed around however you please. It’s a little pricey, but worth it. Here’s an example of what you can do with it.
TextMate
From the TextMate website: TextMate brings Apple’s approach to operating systems into the world of text editors. By bridging UNIX underpinnings and GUI, TextMate cherry-picks the best of both worlds to the benefit of expert scripters and novice users alike. Text is a pay to play product, but it’s worth every penny.
TextWrangler
TextWrangler is another great editor for the Mac, and it’s FREE! I prefer TextWrangler when I’m doing quick and dirty php edits, and it’s a great editor to use when editing files over FTP.
Transmit
Transmit is hands down the best FTP client that I’ve ever used (not just on the mac, but anywhere, including Windows and Linux). If you need an FTP client, don’t hesitate, get Transmit and don’t look back!
WireTap Pro
WireTap Pro is an application for recording audio from either your Mac’s internal audio device, your microphone, or both at the same time. With WireTap Pro you can record interviews over Skype, audio for podcasts and anything else you can think of.
I have a few other packages on my Mac including Photoshop and Skype, but I didn’t think they needed an introduction. For a huge list of software for the mac, check out coolosxapps.net. Another place to keep an eye on is del.icio.us/tag/Mac. Enjoy.
Monday April 23rd 2007, 1:53 am 
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