5 Little-known, awesome apps for Mac OS X

I've been a Mac-addict since first getting my iMac in 2000. (It's still going strong, and with a new upgrade to 10.3.9, it's better than ever.)

Recently, after a fresh reinstall and a new, better organized scheme for file structure, I decided to dig in and really make sure my Mac was always happy, healthy, and clean. I started off by reinstalling a few great freeware applications that I've used for the last year or so... then soon discovered a treasure trove of other really kicking apps.

The following is a brief description of some of the apps that I use daily.

Connoisseur. I'll start with the most recent. It's not freeware - but at $20 bucks, you can't beat... no, "beet" the quality and coolness of this recipe organization app. I downloaded it for my wife, but quickly found that tinkering with it was a real blast. We're still in the 20 day trial period, but I'm sure it's a keeper. Apparently it can even catalog and self-populate the recipe forms just by selecting text of a recipe on a web site and selecting "export to Connoisseur". http://www.thelittleappfactory.com/application.php?app=Connoisseur

Pacifist. Script Editor recently went South on me and the preference files became corrupted. I tried everything from deleting them, re-setting my preferences, to editing the .plist files with Property List Editor. Nothing worked. Finally, someone on the applescript forum suggested I try downloading Pacifist. This gem of the shareware world can actually scour the Mac installation CDs and extract single applications in the case of a specific meltdown. This simple procedure is, unfortunately, not allowable by Apple and there isn't a simple way to browse through their install CDs without running the full installation. Pacifist did was Apple refused to let me do. Within a few minutes, Pacifist was telling me that it suggested I just update Script Editor rather than reinstalling it. I clicked "ok" and was done! I'm not sure how often I'll used this little gem - but knowing that it's there if I should ever need it again is a yummy good feeling.
http://www.charlessoft.com/

DropDMG. This little app is also shareware [$15.00], and it's a fantastic little find. The fact that it's fully Applescript-able means that I was able to write a backup script in a matter of minutes. I actually like this much more than any of the backup software I researched. I use it just about every week and the only drawback is that it offers so many options for encryptions and compressions and file types that it does require a little research prior to diving in and packaging your precious files. I just ran past the 21 day trial period, so I'll be purchasing it very soon. http://c-command.com/dropdmg/

SMARTReporter. A G4 hard drive failed at work about a week ago and I suddenly remembered that I should probably be really worried about my own data at home. After all, my computer is 5 years old. While digging around, I discovered this free app that runs in the background and checks the status of any ATA SMART hard drive. The default is set to check it every 60 minutes... and if a problem occurs, SMARTReporter will report the error in the menu by changing a hard drive icon from green to red. It's also able to e-mail you, but I didn't really need that option since I'm not doing any remote connecting with my Mac. Though it isn't a sure lock of certainty, it is a tad bit nicer just knowing that maybe... maybe you'll have 10 minutes to slam everything you own on a cd and run.
http://homepage.mac.com/julianmayer/

Maintain. Last, is a little app that will help automate just about every cleanup and maintenance routine that you could possibly think of. And, if you happen to think of something that Maintain doesn't do, you can even add your own scripts to it. I'm not really relying on this yet, as I do some of the routine things with other apps like MacJanitor or CacheOutX. But it's filled with routines and odd command line tidbits - so that makes it pretty neat to play around with.
http://homepage.mac.com/mar0588/maintain1/Menu16.html

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