Hi.
I’m just going to ask here. Not so recently (about nearly a month now, technically this is my third weekend) I received my long awaited on hold 13" Touchbar Macbook Pro M2.
So, let me preface this, I (think) I’m an iPad Pro power user, but I have zero knowledge on Mac OS. I’ve been playing around to get loads done (and it does get loads done), what are some of the apps that you good fellows would use in your Macs?
I’m trying to get inspiration. Initially I didn’t install anything, then I over-installed got got chastised by a good friend as “I’m turning my mac into windows” and then I dialed the dialer back.
For now, I think I have -bash (because it was required for something, even though I know nothing) -lots of python (because the apps require it to run -BetterTouchTool (I’m using goldenchaos config as a base, still learning) -Raycast (I find it… amusing. I’m still trying to marry the functions of Raycast and BetterTouchTool)
Of course there are other apps, but I’ll like to hear what Mac users of the Fediverse use. I’ve seen a lot of apps get mentioned, but some I think are very old, so I’m not sure how they hold up in 2024.
Thanks for responding!
(yes I’m just trying my luck, but who knows if anyone can/will respond?)
One of the first tools people tend to install is either Alfred or Raycast. I never used Alfred for more than a nifty app launcher, so a few weeks ago I’ve decided to uninstall it and just use the integrated Spotlight feature (⌘ + SPACE).
Same with window arrangement tools like Rectangle, Magnet or Swish. There’s no real need since macOS 15.1.
What you DO need is AppCleaner. Instead of just dragging an app to the Recycle Bin to uninstall it, drag it into AppCleaner and it will find all additional stuff that app created and allow you to remove that, too. Maybe also add UninstallPKG to remove remnants of apps that were installed using
.pkgfiles.What I also use on a daily basis are a few extensions for Safari: Wipr to block ads in Safari, Noir to not get blinded at night, and SponsorBlock to skip ads in YouTube videos.
If you often download videos and audio files, Downie is pretty good for that.
Media playback: IINA and/or VLC.
If you want to play around on the command line, I prefer iTerm2 over the built-in terminal app. Install Homebrew to get a nice easy way of adding even more command line tools.
If you often organise your files using Finder, Yoink is great as a temporary bucket. iPreview and Peek (maybe Syntax Highlight, too) are great for previewing various kinds of files (SPACE in Finder).
For my office needs, I’m using all the integrated apps, e.g. Pages, Numbers, Calendar, Contacts, Reminders, Notes, Mail, etc.
I think that’s as generic as it gets. I have lots of other apps, but they are mostly for specific things… nothing I use on a general basis.
Hey there. Thanks for the response. Yeah I have Raycast, (I think I posted before) and I kind of like it. I’ll also grab the AppCleaner and UninstallPKG.
I have used Wipr before on my iPadPro, I’ll definitely add that to my MacBook safari. Noir seems nice, I do face that problem. I just added Peek and I’m glad to see that you recommend it too. Thanks again!
A few random thoughts that haven’t been mentioned yet:
Tot is a menubar app for quickly storing and accessing notes, and there’s an iOS version it can sync with.
The Unarchiver is a handy tool that supports a lot more formats than the system does, including rar and 7zip files.
1Blocker is the Safari adblocker I use. Works well on Mac, but noteworthy is that the iOS version has a “firewall” that uses a local VPN profile (doesn’t actually connect to an outside service) to block trackers in Safari as well as native iOS apps.
If you work with text in almost any capacity, BBEdit is still essential 32 years later.
Acorn and Pixelmator Pro are both great image editing apps; Apple just acquired Pixelmator though, so it’s not clear what’s going to happen with it in the long term.
Transmit is a great file transfer app, Panic makes absolute top tier software.
Great recommendations! The Unarchiver is godsent! :D
- IINA for video. It’s a VLC alternative that’s much cleaner and mac native
- Homebrew. It’s a terminal package manager. Super useful.
- Magnet for window snapping. macOS has this built in now and there are open source alternatives, but I bought magnet for a few dollars when the alternatives didn’t exist.
As a side note, the default z shell (zsh) should be good enough for you unless you have a specific reason you need bash instead.
Huh, I already got VLC, but no harm in trying out IINA.
Homebrew is … ridiculously good. I mean sure, I’m not a terminal guy and the last time anything remotely terminal I’ve touched was probably MS Dos era as a kid (and that is OLD) but the more I get into homebrew the more I appreciate its goodness. Sure it takes some time to rewire my brain to read through all the data on the screen, but it is very straightforward, and whatever pops is whatever pops (basically no need to reinterpret or guess the problem), and I like homebrew as possibly one stop to do anything and everything. And update --all LOL, that is MASSIVE.
thanks again! :D
You’re all kind folks and I hope to pay it forward / play it forward!
Happy to have you in Mac land. For me:
- VLC video player is a must. Free, open source, and just an absolute powerhouse of an app.
- Parsec is another I generally install right off the bat. Lets you connect to a windows computer (or other host OS) over the network. Like a low latency Remote Desktop, but for gaming (so it’s faster)
- Visual studio code is also a first install kinda app. If you do any coding, it’s pretty capable and I like it. Personal taste factors in for sure though.
- Orion is my preferred browser, primarily for its iOS app that allows you to ad block on mobile. I use it on desktop too so I can share tabs across all my devices.
If you tell me what other things you intend to do with it, I have more suggestions. Don’t wanna go to deep into development type apps unless you care.
Hi there!
Oh right, VLC. Yeah I forgot about this good old servant. I’ve used parsec before, and yeah I think I’ll give it a whirl. I don’t do coding, but I’ll definitely put visual studio code into the list Aha. I’m mainly a firefox guy, but I’ll give Orion a whirl. I mean no harm trying new stuffs. I mainly use it as a “bring as much work as possible”. So i also had to install Google suite and Microsoft suite (because my work relies on those).
As for other things, I’m probably toying around with Local LLMs, so I’m using JAN AI (they have an app that really utilizes metal, but the app is not written in apple’s language, I think, or I may be wrong, but it is one of the fewer LLM frontends (and backends) that really makes use of Apple hardware (such as MLX). I also use a lot of Lumafusion, and I’m also using that on the MacBook, but maybe I’ll try using something like Da Vinci, until I can justify buying or needing Final Cut Pro and other Apple creative suite. (I’m just using that because in the past i had an iPad Pro, and it was the best “on machine” video editing device I can use with almost no downtime.
Thanks again!
