Without a doubt, CleanMyMac X is the best way to rid your Mac of the digital. Since Windows 10 PC doesn't come with an in-built duplicate photo remover tool, it is important to add this utility to your list of must-have apps for Windows 10. Similar Photo Cleaner is one of those nifty, renowned software available in the marketplace that can make your job much easier. A good archive utility. Archive programs seem to suck on macOS. Keka is alright but I'm using 7-Zip (with Wine), which is much better. I did have F.lux installed at some point but then macOS 10.12.4 came out.
Here's my list of applications I can't live without on my Mac. It's the first thing I install when setting up a new machine. Maybe you'll find one you like?
Fantastical
Fantastical is a great calendar utility for your Mac. You get a calendar in the menubar with natural language entry, easily accessible with a keyboard shortcut. You can write, 'lunch with Pete next Tuesday at 1' and Fantastical will automatically add an entry for it in your calendar. But what if you want to select which calendar you want the entry in? End the sentence with / and the first letters of the calendar name. For example /w for work.
Naturally, you can still edit entries the standard way if you like or if you want to add attendees or notes. Fantastical is available on both Mac OS X and iOS, and I use it on all my devices.
Fantastical works with iCloud, Google Calendar, or Yahoo Calendar accounts.
LaunchBar
LaunchBar is the first application I install after setting up a new machine. Instead of having to click around to get things done, you press a hot-key and then enter an abbreviation to open a document, start an application or a host of other actions. You can now work without leaving the hands from the keyboard, making you operate faster. It automatically learns your abbreviations while you use it so it gets smarter the more you use it. You can have it do multiple steps, like selecting a folder, compress it and then send it via email.
Some of the functions that programs like LaunchBar, Quicksilver and Alfred is now integrated into Apples Spotlight Search, but LaunchBar is much more advanced. You get a lot out of it by just using the basics, but you continue to discover new great features all the time. LaunchBar has been around for a long time, and it comes from a great developer, Objective Developer
1Password
Tired of trying to remember a hundred different passwords or even worse, use the same password for all your accounts? With 1Password you only need to remember one password, and you can have long randomly generated passwords for each website account, server or devices requiring a password. The application includes a password generator where you can set up precisely how many characters, symbols or numbers you want the password to contain. The app comes with plugins for all major browsers so with just a keyboard shortcut you fill out the username and password when logging in. You can save your personal information so signing up for a new account makes it easy, having 1Password enter all the info. You can also collect your credit card information in 1Password which makes your shopping online easy by filling out those pesky fields with one keystroke.
There is built in sync between Mac and iOS devices, so you always have access to your login information even on the go. The information is encrypted, so if someone manages to get hold of the password database, they can't get to them.
1Password – No More Sticky Notes
1Password for iOS
It's easy to set up syncing between your desktop and your iPhone and iPad, so you always have your encrypted information with you.
Growl
Growl is a notification system that has been around for a long time on the Mac. It's a great utility. In fact so good that Apple introduced their notification system in Mountain Lion. But Growl gives more fine-grained information from applications that support it. So you can get notifications when a file in Dropbox is updated, when Transmit has finished an upload or when Transmission ends a torrent download.
HardwareGrowler
And here's my favorite use of Growl, because with HardwareGrowler you get information when you lose a network connection, USB devices connects and disconnects, volumes mounts or unmount. When you attached new hardware to your Mac, you know that it worked and you also know if something detaches. Losing an Ethernet or wifi connection, and HardwareGrowler will tell you so. HardwareGrowler is a great utility.
iStat Menus
Want to know if an application is taking up too much CPU usage? Getting low on system memory and want to see which is the offending application? Need to look at the transfer speed of your network connection? With iStat Menu you get access to that and more directly from the menu bar. You can configure it to suit your needs. You can even check the temperature of all the sensors in your computer. It's a great way of getting status on how your system is running.
This application is not available in the Mac AppStore
TextExpander
This utility lets you make abbreviations and have it expand to longer texts called snippets. It's great for email signatures, boilerplate answers for letters and email. I use it a lot for blogging for inserting Markdown code and often used graphics in HTML that is hard to remember. It saves a lot of time. It even has statistics builtin so you can check how much time you have saved from not having to type out all the text. On the Mac, it's system-wide, which means that you can use it in any program. There's also the ability to sync your snippets with Dropbox so you can share them between several Macs or even iOS devices.
This application is not available in the Mac AppStore
TextExpander Touch for iOS
There's a version of TextExpander for your iPhone and iPad as well. Most of the functions work, but it's not system-wide due to Apple restrictions. But a lot of the best iOS apps support TextExpander for iOS, and it even has a unique keyboard in iOS 8, so you can use it with any app.
Last updated October 27, 2020
All About Mac Utilities
In order for your computer to run smoothly, you need more than just a good configuration. No matter how good the components are and how new, fast and powerful your computer is when you first purchase it, it's not going to stay like that forever.
Just like with any other item, computers also need a lot of maintenance, in order to keep running at their best capacity. Mouse recorder mac.
After years of wear out, browsing the Internet, endlessly installing and uninstalling programs, moving around files and folders, downloading stuff and so on, you will notice the effects. Your system will get slower and less efficient with time. That's where utility software springs into action.
Utility software is a program/app that helps your computer work better. There are a lot of types of utility software, depending on what part of your computer it focuses on: the operating system, data storage, hardware and so on. There are apps that clean up your junk files from your Mac and free up the space on your hard drive. Others may detect apps that are running unnecessary in the background, slowing down your system and help you optimize it. There are programs that detect malware, viruses, bloatware and so on, that help you recover lost data or protect sensitive information. The list goes on…
All computers usually come with built-in utility tools and Macs make no exception. Some examples are: Console, Disk Utility, AirPort Utility, Keychain Access, Activity Monitor and others.
But these integrated tools are not always as efficient as utility software developed by third-parties. However, you shouldn't expect miracles from any program. Although you will experience an increase in performance after using them, none of them has the ability to make your computer behave like it is brand new again.
Apple Mac Utilities
Here are some of the most common types of utility software:
- Antivirus utilities
- Disk cleaners
- Disk cloning utilities
- Backup utilities
- Cryptographic utilities (they let you encrypt files and folders for increased protection)
- Memory testers
- System monitors (they monitor the performance and resources)
- Network utilities
Mac Utilities - What to Look For
There are a lot of apps out there that claim they can boost your Mac's performance. While some of them can be tested for free and don't cost you anything, a lot of them are paid apps, so you should be careful what you pay for.
You should always try the free apps first and only if they prove to be worthless, go for the paid ones. Also, the good news is that most of the paid apps also have trial versions, so you can test the product before you buy.
When looking for utility apps for your Mac, you can either install specific apps that can perform specific tasks: cleaning apps, data recovery apps, encryption apps, backup apps, security apps and so on, or choose a suite that incorporates all of them.
No matter which option you choose, you should pay attention to some essential aspects when searching for the right utility app. The most important ones are:
Must Have Mac Utilities Cost
- cost vs. quality
- features
- ease of use
- performance
- how the customer support is for that specific app
- security
Here are some of the best choices we could find:
Mac backup software:Data Backup, Carbon Copy Cloner, Acronis True Image, SuperDuper, ChronoSync
Applications Utilities On Mac
EaseUS, Stellar Phoenix, Prosoft Data Rescue, Disk Drill Pro, Wondershare, Cisdem DataRecovery
Mac encryption software:Concealar, Hider 2, Espionage 3, MacKeeper, Data Guardian 3
'All-in-one' Mac utility software:MacKeeper, OnyX, iDoctor, Data Rescue 3, Stellar Drive ToolBox
