Don't spend a lot loading your Macintosh with useful software. Many of the best productivity apps are entirely free.

The Macintosh platform once had a reputation for being a little, well, pricey. With the now selling for less than $1,000, maybe those days are gone. Mac software may still have that same rep, but it shouldn't because the variety of totally free and worthwhile software for OS X is phenomenal.

This list builds on our previous story from 2010, and even contains many of the same titles included in our story for Windows users. (Developers know that going cross-platform is the way to make everyone happy.)

What's very new this year is that dozens of these titles are selling now in the Mac App Store, which is Apple's attempt to bring the success of its App Store for iTunes to the desktop. We've provided links where we can, so you can get these freebies in the Mac App Store, which will ensure that as the app is upgraded, you get the latest version.

All 142 of these Mac titles are downloadable software you would typically install. Remember, there's a wealth of great, free, out there, such as Google Docs, Aviary, AnyMeeting, Mint.com, and many more that work perfectly on the Mac via your browser. There's really no end to the great software you can use for free.

In This Story:

ANTIVIRUS

1. Avira Free Mac Security

Face it: Macs get viruses, too. This antivirus is free for all Mac users, even in commercial settings. Scan the entire Mac or just specific folders, run it on a scheduler, and get real-time protection against malware.

2. Bitdefender Virus Scanner

Bitdefender's Mac Virus Scanner seeks out threats to your Mac as well as your Windows machine, so you don't pass them on. ( on them). You can use it to scan individual files by drag-and-drop.

• Available in the Mac App Store

3. ClamXav

ClamXav, based on ClamAV, is a free open-source anti-virus finder and killer. It'll find Windows viruses as well as Mac malware, and it will only go after files you specify, using daily updated definitions.

• Available in the Mac App Store

4. Sophos Antivirus For Mac Home Edition

Despite the lack of virus threats to the Mac, this free tool from Sophos is already up to version eight. It scans all files or just the folders you specify, on a schedule of your choosing. A video will guide you through what you can do.

APP LAUNCHERS

5. Launchy

A favorite on Windows, Launchy brings a command-line interface to the Mac to access programs and files.

6. Alfred

Award-winning Alfred is like the butler your Mac needs. It's a launcher, as well as a searcher (of both the Mac and the Web), calculator, system control tool (use it to empty trash or restart), and more. Skip using the mouse and keep your fingers on the keyboard with Alfred.

• Available in the Mac App Store

7. Chuck

Alfred and Quicksilver are great, but Chuck beats both in sheer speed. It doesn't do anything but help you launch apps, as quickly as possible.

• Available in the Mac App Store

8. Quicksilver

Back from the dead, Quicksilver is once again the top choice for OS X app launching. It is all about assigning shortcuts and mouse gestures to trigger actions that go well beyond app launching. Use it to control iTunes, add files to folders, and more.

AUDIO

9. Audacity

is always the top choice for a free audio-editing tool.

10. SoundCloud

SoundCloud is mainly an online Web app for sharing sounds and music, but it also provides an iTunes-esque desktop app for the MacOS to make managing and sharing your audio files via the site a breeze.

• Available in the Mac App Store

BACKUP/SYNC

11. Carbon Copy Cloner

CCC makes a full, bootable copy of your hard drive. And it's not just for one-time use; it'll incrementally add changes to the backup as you work on your Mac.

12. CrashPlan

The safest backup is one that isn't even close to your computer, namely, offsite. CrashPlan does onsite and offsite backups, running on multiple computers and devices, so you get secure backup stored at multiple destinations. You can pay for it to get online, real-time storage.

13. CX

may be one of the newbies in online data backup/sync, but it already provides more storage for free than most (10GB), usable by two users.

14. Dropbox

It's considered by many to be the perfect example of backup/sync. You put a file in your folder and you'll find it on all of your PCs and devices that have it installed, so you're always with your most recent files.

15. MozyHome

You'll get 2GB of free online backup storage with a free account. Point your important folders at the account and they'll be safely backed up in the background. Pay $5.99 a month to expand the storage space and add tech support.

16. Minus

Minus is for sharing, a little like Pinterest. Use the desktop app on your Mac (or on your smartphone or via the browser) to upload a file and set it to public or private. You can share a file as large as 1GB. Files are deleted after 30 days, unless you pay for an upgrade.

• Available in the Mac App Store

17. SpiderOak

SpiderOak throws you 2GB of free online storage as it syncs files across computers, including Macs, Windows, and Linux machines. It also promises total privacy; your data is only readable by you. If you need more storage, it's $10 per month for 100GB.

18. SugarSync

Our Editors' Choice for file sync and backup, provides a generous 5GB of online storage as it syncs files across your computers with an interface that's more intuitive than the competition.

BROWSERS

19. Firefox

Mozilla has always been great about making available on all desktop platforms, and you're missing out if you don't have Firefox—laden with some highly useful plug-ins from its huge library of add-ons—on your Mac.

20. Fluid

Fluid's got one trick: it turns any website into a launchable application (aka. a "site-specific browser"). You get an icon to click and a separate window for that Web app. It's great for social networks or Web apps, such as Google Docs or Yahoo Mail.

21. Google Chrome

This minimalist browser runs fast and even supports Flash natively, without requiring a separate plug-in. Oh, and happens to be a PCMag Editors' Choice.

22. Opera

claims to be "the fastest browser on earth." Version 10.62, now out for Mac OS, takes full advantage, plus it includes some nice extras, like a built-in mail client and antivirus.

• Available in the Mac App Store

23. Safari

because it's right there waiting for you. It's a damn fine browser—nice enough that you may never want another.

CALENDARS/PIMS

24. Chandler

Chandler handles your notes, to-do lists, and calendar in an interface that will be comfortable for Outlook users forced to use a Mac.

25. Lightning



This Thunderbird extension adds full to-do list and calendaring capabilities to an already quite capable email client, making it the free equivalent of Outlook for Mac 2011.

26. Rainlendar

Want your calendar embedded on the desktop for fast reference? Rainlendar provides the nicest display for tracking your time, tasks lists, and it even does it in multiple languages.

CLIPBOARD

27. Click.to



Forget the old days of copying and pasting. Click.to will instantly send what you copy to pre-defined apps or websites. It's a fast way to search or share info.

28. Jumpcut

Buffer everything you ever copy to the clipboard using Jumpcut. You'll have access to all the text even if you've subsequently hit Ctrl-C.

CONFERENCING

29. Camfrog

Camfrog makes it easy to set up a webcam chat room for free, and not just with other Mac users; it's also on Windows and smartphones. All video calls are free between Camfrog users.

30. FaceTime

Whether you use OS X or iOS, with FaceTime on the latest hardware, you'll get a consistently good video chat that "just works."

• Available in the Mac App Store

31. Logitech Vid

You don't need a Logitech webcam to video conference in HD with Vid . However, if you do have one, you get 720p HD resolution on calls.

32. ooVoo

If you need to 12-way video call between Mac, Windows, and mobile users in various places, can help. It'll even embed a video chat room on a website and record audio of the call for later playback. You'll have to watch some ads, but you can get rid of them and get extra features for $3 a month.

33. Skype

Forget all that complicated pricing to make calls to other phones and remember that Skype-to-Skype calls are free with video. And also includes instant messaging, HD support, and calls to other OSes and smartphones with Skype.

EBOOKS

34. calibre

Calibre should be the central repository of all your ebook files, as it converts them on the fly to different formats, letting them work on different devices. It's got you covered with file sync, too.

35. ComicBookLover

ComicBookLover is on OS X and iOS, serving as the perfect venue to read digital archives of funny books in CBR, CBZ, or PDF formats and store them in an iTunes-esque directory. The free version sticks a watermark on the pages, but you can usually get around it to read (or pay $25 for the premium edition).

36. iBooks Author

This free tool has one objective: to help you create multi-touch-capable books for reading on the iPad (after purchase in the iBookStore). Features include embedding video, diagrams, 3D objects, and other things to create a singular reading experience; a simple book can be made with one drag and drop of a file.

• Available in the Mac App Store

37. Kindle Cloud Reader

Amazon wants you to read ebooks everywhere, whether you own a Kindle ebook reader or not. Thus, is available on all platforms, including the Mac OS X, where it fully supports the WhisperSync to the furthest page read, word look-up, book search, collection organization, and more.

• Available in the Mac App Store

38. Barnes & Noble Nook for Mac

The Barnes & Noble Nook for Mac is still listed as a beta, but it's there to give you access to your entire Nook library on your MacOS desktop. Plus, it lets you go shopping, add notes and bookmarks to ebooks, and of course sync to the last read page.

39. Simple Comic



Simple Comic has an ultra-simple interface to make reading of comics in CBR, CBZ, and other formats simple. It'll load multiple comics at one time, rotate pages to maximize what's shown, and zoom in on details, all for free.

EMAIL

40. Cobook

While not exactly an email client, Cobook is the new Mac ultimate in address books. It automatically checks social networks to keep up to date, all in the database of the built-in Mac Address Book, so you can still use it if necessary (for iCloud sync, for example). The entire interface is accessed via the menu bar, so it stays out of the way.

41. Sparrow Lite



You have to watch some ads (or pay $9.99 to upgrade), but it's worth it for this minimalist, Twitter-like interface that brings in all your Web mail accounts (Gmail, Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and others) under one roof. It's also available for iPhone.

• Available in the Mac App Store

42. Thunderbird

Now in version 12, Mozilla's email and RSS client remains the best full-fledged email client you can get for free. The incredible number of add-ons only makes it better.

FILE TRANSFER / BITTORRENT

43. CloudApp

Drag a file to the CloudApp icon and Linebreak's Cloud service does the rest: it uploads the file for storage and puts the URL on the clipboard for you. Other apps can send files to CloudApp, too, using their "Raindrop" plug-ins. Links to files can be made private or public. The free service is limited to 25MB per file and ten files per day.

• Available in the Mac App Store

44. Cyberduck

Cyberduck supports more transfer protocols than you can imagine—from the standard (FTP) to the obscure—and can handle files stored at online sites like Amazon S3, Windows Azure, and Google Drive, among others. (Note that Cyberduck is free on its home website, with a donation suggested, but costs $24 in the Mac App Store.)

• Available in the Mac App Store

45. Deluge

A torrent client with plug-in options, is small and runs fast no matter what OS you use it on.

46. Dockdrop

Like CloudApp, Dockdrop lets you upload a file with a keystroke or by dragging and dropping it on an icon. The URL for where the file is stored is instantly available from the clipboard, but there's no extra online account needed here; you specify the destination and how it's transferred (FPT, SFTP, WebDAV, or to Flickr).

47. Droplr

Another instant drag-and-drop or shortcut uploader, Droplr lets you upload 25MB files in 1GB of space to its servers for sharing. (Visitors have to view ads when they access the file unless you go Pro for $30 a year, which also means bigger files and more space.)

• Available in the Mac App Store

48. Filezilla

You can't beat the venerable Filezilla when you need an old-school FTP client with a tabbed interface.

49. SoMud

is more than just a BitTorrent client; it also downloads Web audio and video, transcoding as it goes. It'll even do screen recording, making a video of what you see on your desktop. After that, sharing is easy, as SoMud helps you create a torrent for seeding to others.

50. uTorrent

The third version of (or technically, µTorrent) will stream videos as they download, has a remote access feature so you can start/stop/pause torrents remotely, and lets you minimize the parts of the Interface that go unused.

51. Vuze

In addition to downloading torrents, is also a full media server, so video or audio can be played back on your networked media devices, such as Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, or transcoded to play on smartphones and tablets. That's why it's our PCMag Editors' Choice.

52. Transmission

Native to Macintosh and Linux, this BitTorrent client also has a Web interface for remote access and a terminal client for the gear heads.

53. xTorrent 2



XTorrent2 is the most Mac-esque of all BitTorrent clients, with an attractive look that mimics other Mac apps (like the Finder and iTunes) perfectly.

GRAPHICS

54. 123D Make



Autodesk's 123D Make converts a 3D digital model into printable 2D plans that you can print out and cut to assemble that 3D model into something real.

• Available in the Mac App Store

55. Capture Me

Capture Me improves on the Mac's built-in screen-grab tool, proving the ability to save in different formats, capture a floating area of the screen, or resize images on the fly.

56. GIMP

The Photoshop of open source, the GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) has all the pro tools you'd want on a Mac—and a few you don't—without the high price.

57. Google SketchUp

Need a tool to create that 3D image that you'd turn into a paper sculpture with 123D Make (above)? Google's SketchUp tool is the perfect software to get started. It will even let you photo trace to turn a picture into a 3D model. Check out the gallery of images.

58. Inkscape

Free alternatives to Adobe Illustrator for drawing vector graphics are not easy to come by—until Inkscape. This open-source software supports most advanced SVG format features.

59. Jing

Jing does a lot: it'll take a screen capture (which you can annotate) or even a five- minute onscreen video (you provide the voice-over). Then, Jing will share it quickly on Flickr, Twitter, Facebook, or its own Screencast.com site, where you get 2GB of free storage.

60. LibreCAD

Computer Aided Design (CAD) programs for mechanical drawings typically cost a lot, but if you need to create some plans, LibreCAD is available free on multiple operating systems for any budding architect or draftsman.

61. PhotoStickies

There is no lack of sticky-note apps for memos that digitally reside on your desktop. This freeware provides the same thing to photographs, so they'll float on your desktop for you to see every day.

• Available in the Mac App Store

62. Picasa

Available for Intel-based Macs, image editor and organizer provides a level of control over media that every user should embrace. It even handles video, and instantly uploads media for sharing on Google+ (but being Google, it pulled sharing for Facebook and Flickr without an extra plug-in).

63. Picture Collage Maker Lite

Throw multiple digital photos into one big printable collage with this tool, complete with more than 40 templates to get you started. (There are many more templates in the paid version.)

• Available in the Mac App Store

64. Sculptris

Rather than start with nothing as you go 3D, Sculptris gives you a digital blog of goo that you can manipulate into, well, anything—if you've got the artistic chops.

65. Sketchbook Express

Like the iPad version, Sketchbook Express on the Mac is a simple-to-use drawing application for anyone. It takes full advantage of touch-based gestures on the Mac to do extra things with menus, and even the space bar is important for navigation.

• Available in the Mac App Store

66. Skitch

Evernote's top-rated Skitch app is a screen capture and editing tool. It will annotate, crop, and add shapes or lines or watermarks, as effectively and efficiently as possible. Naturally, you can upload it to Evernote for storage and sharing immediately.

• Available in the Mac App Store

67. USketch

Most people start with a sketch and build on it. Usketch goes the other way, taking your finished digital photo or other artwork and reducing it down to look like a sketch, with 12 effects available. The software will share the image on your favorite social networks or via email.

• Available in the Mac App Store

68. Xee

The built-in Preview app on the Mac is great, but Xee is a little more powerful when it comes to support for various formats and archives. It works with The Unarchiver (from the same developer) to look inside just about any compressed file archive and minor editing tools make Xee worth having, considering the price.

69. XnConvert

This multi-OS image editor specializes in batch conversion and resizing. Drop a few files on it with pre-determined rules and it can spit them all back out smaller, with a watermark, rotated, and with or without metadata. There are even filters and effects to apply, like a Gaussian Blur.

• Available in the Mac App Store

INSTANT MESSAGING

71. Adium



A perennial favorite for accessing multiple instant message protocols at once, Adium supports all the majors like AIM, Yahoo, Facebook, and Google Talk, as well as social networking, with a built-in Twitter client.

72. AIM

AIM remains the biggest of the IM networks, so you're probably on it if you want to talk to anyone. The AIM client continues to be pretty innovative, even accessing social networks, and easily sharing photos and video.

73. Trillian

Trillian for Mac is ready for primetime use on all the major instant-messaging networks, and a lot of obscure ones. Like its competition, Trillian is more than just messages now, having embraced social networking. It also shares a deep integration with its brethren on smartphones, including a synchronized chat history.

• Available in the Mac App Store

MEDIA MANAGEMENT

74. Apple iTunes 10

It's the biggest media store on the planet and an audio/video player and organizer without equal. is a little bloated after ten years, but remains the top way to work with your iOS devices and discover and buy new music. It even has full 1080p HD video playback of movies and TV shows now.

75. Clementine

Available for all major desktop OSes, Clementine seeks to supplant iTunes as your music player and organizer. (It doesn't do video.) It's also a great Internet radio station player, supporting services like Spotify, Grooveshark, and Last.fm.

76. doubleTwist

As iTunes-like as they come, doubleTwist organizes audio, video, podcasts, and photos, and allows you to sync them with smartphones other than just the iPhone (specifically those supporting Android).

77. Miro



Open-source Miro makes it easy to get up and running. It imports data right from iTunes (without changing anything in that program). After that, you can sync media to Android devices, and even use Miro to buy new music, videos, and Android apps. Plus, it downloads torrents, and whatever media you have can be shared with other computers running Miro.

• Available in the Mac App Store

78. Songbird

Songbird is a multi-platform audio/video player and organizer built on tools from Mozilla. It handles the usual playlists, sorting, and search, and then syncs what you want with your Android phone.

MEDIA SERVERS

79. Air Video

This server software (also available for Windows) will stream video in any format to iOS devices (running the Air Video app) on your network, transcoding as you play, so you don't have to re-format the original video.

80. Plex

Plex runs on Intel-based Macs to serve up media to a number of clients—PCs, phones, and connected devices like Roku boxes, Google TV, or anything that supports DLNA. It features 150 channels of online content to share, as well.

81. StreamToMe



Still free for now, StreamToMe streams (duh) media over Wi-Fi or even 3G to Macs, Windows PCs, or iOS devices. (The server PC needs to have ServeToMe installed.) All the conversion needed happens as it's streaming.

• Available in the Mac App Store

82. XBMC

The former Xbox Media Center now runs on so many operating systems—even the Apple TV!—that it's a crime not to use it to serve your media files around your home network.

MIND MAPS

83. FreeMind

This Java-based mind mapper is a great way to organize thoughts on your latest project. (And because it's Java, it works on all desktop OSes.)

84. MindNode (free)



A very Mac-friendly mind mapper, MindNode jumps you right to the canvas to start creating, with multiple maps possible per canvas.

• Available in the Mac App Store

85. XMind

XMind is arguably the best-looking free mind mapper available. It also stresses sharing maps and collaborating with others.

NOTES

86. Evernote

Nothing beats for note-taking and organization. Use it on every possible platform—from Mac to iPhone to Web and beyond—to store entire whole webpages or just little snips of text that you can search for later.

• Available in the Mac App Store

87. Notational Velocity



The nonconformist note taker, Notational Velocity uses the same interface area for entering data or searching. Bring it up with a keystroke and just start typing.

88. NotesTab

You never have to click Save when writing notes in NotesTab. You can float the app on top of your desktop for easy access, email notes to share, and perform easy searches. It's all accessed from the Mac menu bar.

• Available in the Mac App Store

89. Quick Note

Specifically for light-weight note-taking, Quick Note sits like a small yellow pad on your desktop awaiting your input. If you sign up for a Diigo account, you can sync notes with other systems.

• Available in the Mac App Store

90. Read Later

Read Later is a client for accessing accounts at Pocket or Instapaper where you may have stored articles for future reading. From Read Later, you can share it out to social networks, store it with another service like Evernote, or email it.

• Available in the Mac App Store

OFFICE/PRODUCTIVITY

91. Bean

Designed to be a "lean, fast, and uncluttered" text editor, Bean lacks certain power features (footnotes, floating graphics, stylesheets) to focus on the simplicity needed to get some real writing done.

92. Cloud Printer

If you use Google Cloud Print with your printer, this is the tool you need to send print jobs to it from your Mac. (Or you can use it to send files to Google Drive or a FedEx Office store.)

• Available in the Mac App Store

93. Dia

Dia is the freebie of choice to make flowcharts, org charts, or any kind of diagram. Once you've got it, grab Diashapes to get additional symbols to add to your charts.

94. FocusWriter

Imagine that you could hide the interface around Microsoft Word as you write—that's what a distraction-free environment like FocusWriter provides. In the end, it's nothing more than a window for filling with text (but you can still access the hidden interface as necessary).

95. NeoOffice

NeoOffice is based on the well-known OpenOffice.org free suite, but actually puts it in a native Mac interface. The suite consists of word processor, spreadsheet, and presentations tools. There's a mobile feature, so you can access your files while on the road, using NeoOffice's free online storage (100MB, files expire after 30 days).

96. OmmWriter Dana I



It's like FocusWriter in that it hides tools to eliminate distractions while writing, but OmmWriter's free version (also available on Windows) comes with an "audio-visual experience," background music and desktop images that instill relaxation and promote productivity. (The paid version, which costs $4.11 or more, has even more visual experiences.)

97. Pencil

The Pencil Project is about building a diagram tool for all. (It's available for Windows and as a Firefox plug-in.) It comes with plenty of built-in stencils for diagramming, can link between diagram pages, and can be exported to multiple formats.

98. Scribus

Looking to try desktop publishing? Scribus stands alone, providing a free tool for doing full-page layout and design. It includes pro tools like built-in color separation and color management.

99. PrinterShare

Encourage everyone you know with a printer (on Windows or Mac OSes) to install PrinterShare, and soon you can all send print jobs to their printers over the Internet.

100. TextWrangler

For everything from general writing on up to full-on program coding, TextWrangler is a favorite that supports extras like FTP upload.

• Available in the Mac App Store

PDFs

101. Adobe Reader X

Adobe Reader X is the tenth generation of Adobe's Acrobat file reader, and it's become a fast tool capable of displaying more than just PDFs.

102. Skim

You can do more than look at PDFs with Skim; you can take notes and highlight what's in a file.

103. Wondershare PDF Converter



Rather than create a PDF, this utility converts PDFs into PowerPoint presentations, fully editable in PPTX format by PowerPoint Mac 2008/2011. You can even batch convert up to 50 PDFs at a time.

• Available in the Mac App Store

REMOTE CONTROL

104. Chicken of the VNC

Chicken of the VNC uses a small client to create a remote control connection between Macs so you can see the screen of another computer on yours and take full control of that remote system.

105. CrossLoop Remote Access

CrossLoop can provide either straight-up screen sharing in just minutes, or a full remote control access that includes unlimited file transfers and even mobile access via Android smartphones. To access more than one computer, you'll need to subscribe starting at $19.50 a year.

106. LogMeIn Free

LogMeIn Free only needs software installed on the remote machine—you access the remote one by logging in at LogMeIn.com on your Web browser. From there, you can chat or whiteboard. You only pay if you want features such as file transfers and desktop sharing.

107. ShareMouse

Rather than remotely controling a Windows or Mac system that's actually remote, what about one that's right next to you? ShareMouse is software that lets you use one keyboard and mouse to control multiple systems sitting side-by-side, as long as they're on the same network. Restrictions apply to power users.

108. TeamViewer

even shows your local desktop on the remote machine and can transfer files all you want.

RSS READERS

109. Gruml

Do you love Google Reader but wish it came as a desktop app for Mac? Gruml is the front end you've been looking for that manages your Google Reader account without the browser.

110. NetNewsWire



Free of NewsGator and ready for Google Reader syncing, NetNewsWire provides ad-supported RSS reading for free. (For $15, you can get rid of the ads.)

111. Vienna

With a plug-in architecture that lets it share with social networks and user-provided skins, you can customize the way the Mac-only Vienna shows your feeds.

SECURITY

112. Dashlane

stores passwords in the cloud, but keeps track of all your online purchases and filled out online forms locally, so you can organize them. All of the data is encrypted, both on your drive and on the Internet, and only your personal master password can provide access. Dashlane is also now available for iPhone.

113. LastPass

A five-star product in its Windows incarnation, is still a must for the Mac. It manages all your passwords for all your devices and sites, plus stores secured notes, auto-fills forms, and logs you into sites as needed, all with a single master password.

114. Password Pad Lite



Password Pad is a notebook for storing encrypted data to access later on your desktop. It's perfect for keeping passwords, secrets, or even a diary. The lite version uses XOR encryption instead of the Triple DES in the full $4.99 version.

• Available in the Mac App Store

115. TrueCrypt

Your secret data isn't truly secret until it's encrypted. TrueCrypt will handle the job with AES-256-level encryption, for just a folder or an entire drive.

SOCIAL NETWORKS

116. Echofon Lite for Twitter

This tiny Twitter client is made to run all day on your desktop, and syncs with Echofon on the iPhone to show only unread tweets. It costs $9.99 to get rid of the ad on the interface.

• Available in the Mac App Store

117. Kiwi



A beautiful Mac implementation of Twitter, Kiwi features a tabbed interface to access multiple Twitter accounts. There are several minimalist themes to apply to the interface, with more available for download. Rules let you hide content you'd rather skip. Skip the adds by paying 99 cents.

118. Seesmic Ping

This tiny window for your Mac presents one place to type 140 characters that can be instantly shared with Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts.

119. MenuTab for Facebook

Get Facebook out of the way but also keep it instantly accessible. MenuTab puts a Facebook icon on the Mac menu bar to notify you of changes to your newsfeed, photos, and groups. It also lets you access your profile or update status, all without opening a Web browser.

• Available in the Mac App Store

120. TweetDeck

Twitter now owns TweetDeck and has established it as the tool for its power users. It supports access to Facebook as well.

• Available in the Mac App Store

121. Twitter

Twitter's eponymous app has been called the best Twitter client of all. (It used to be a tool called Tweetie.) It supports multiple accounts, shortens URLs, shares images—just about everything you'd want when posting 140 characters.

• Available in the Mac App Store

TASK LISTS

122. iProcrastinate



Designed to track your tasks on either a Mac or iPhone, iProcrastinate will sync your to-do lists between the two. "Star" the important tasks that keep cropping up, set priorities to tasks, and even break them down step-by-step.

• Available in the Mac App Store

123. Producteev

Producteev is an entire ecosystem for task management, for you or a group. It's available on Mac, Windows, the Web, iPhone, Android, and others, so you can sync across all your devices.

• Available in the Mac App Store

124. SimpleTask

Simplicity is all SimpleTask wants to emphasize about its task list app for Mac. You pick which tasks deserve reminder badges, search them as needed, and ultimately "work your way." Get it for iPhone for $1.99 and sync tasks with your Mac.

125. Wunderlist

Available for all desktop and smartphone OSes, as well as on the Web, Wunderlist is one of those tasks lists that looks so good you wish you had more work to do. All tasks are cloud-synced with devices on the same Wunderlist account.

• Available in the Mac App Store

UTILITIES

126. CCleaner

is beloved on Windows for cleaning lots of crap off hard drives. Now, that same optimization tool is on the Mac, ready to reclaim disk space and protect privacy by erasing cookies and more, at your request.

• Available in the Mac App Store

127. Keka

Keka is a file compresser/archiver that can also split the big files into multiple smaller files, with formats like 7z, ZIP, and TAR. It also supports extraction of many file types. While labeled free on its site, the Mac App Store charges for Keka, so get it where you find it most appropriate.

• Available in the Mac App Store for $2.99

128. OnyX

You can do a lot under the Mac OS hood with the command line, but to be safe, stick with an app that tweaks the OS for you, like OnyX. It has access to just about every hidden option the Mac OS has.

129. NetSpot

If your wireless network seems a little flaky, it might be time for a survey—that is, a Wi-Fi survey. NetSpot will run on your MacBook to gather data from the Airport adapter and identify weak spots in coverage with a sleek visual map.

• Available in the Mac App Store

130. Stuffit Expander

Stuffit files go way back on the Mac platform and Stuffit Expander is the free way to un-Stuff these archives. But it's not limited to them, as it will uncompress everything made by compression tools like WinZip or Keka (above).

• Available in the Mac App Store

131. The Unarchiver

If Stuffit Expander isn't enough, check out The Unarchiver. It only does one thing—unarchive things—and it does it to just about every compressed file you can imagine.

• Available in the Mac App Store

VIDEO

132. Adapter

This extremely comprehensive video (and audio and photos) converter has easy pre-sets for output, or if you really know what you're doing, you can go into the settings to tweak the output. It also handles Flash video downloads and gives you a preview of the output as it transcodes video. It can even make iPhone ringtones.

133. Any Video Converter Mac Free

This Mac OS all-in-one converter supports a huge number of codec and formats for input and output, and can handle batch conversion of a number of files. It even offers some rudimentary editing of video clips.

• Available in the Mac App Store

134. Avidemux

Avidemux isn't going to win any awards for its interface, but if you need to make quick-and-dirty edits to digital video and don't want to buy iMovie, this software could be all you need.

135. Blender

Get ready to apply for that Hollywood CGI animation job. Blender is the free animation tool that will give you the skills you need. In fact, feature-quality animation is made with Blender every day.

136. Evom

One of many drag-and-drop video converters on this list, Evom also takes links so it can transcode a Flash video from the Web to a new format to run on your Mac desktop. You can save it as audio only, if you prefer.

137. Handbrake

Handbrake excels in changing a video file into another type of video file, so you can batch transform all those videos on your hard drive or DVDs into clips for your iPhone, for example.

138. Miro Video Converter

The sister to the Miro media manager, Video Converter is an open-source video codec transcoder to which you simply drag a file to get started. Just pick the device it will play back on, typically a phone or a PSP, and let it run.

• Available in the Mac App Store

139. MplayerX



MplayerX "aims to be the most powerful, beautiful, easy to use multimedia player on Mac OS X." It does that by supporting just about any file format not just locally, but also streaming, and providing a minimalist black interface to put focus on content, not the app.

• Available in the Mac App Store

140. Smart Converter

Smart Converter brands itself as the simplest and maybe it is. Drag a video to it, drop it, select an output type, and it'll transcode that video. It can automatically add videos to iTunes for you.

• Available in the Mac App Store

141. VLC media player

is all about playback. If there's a video file on your drive that doesn't work with Windows Media Player or whatever else you've got, it's almost guaranteed that VLC's got the codec you need to watch it.

VIRTUALIZATION

142. VirtualBox

runs Windows and other Intel-based OSes in a box on the Mac OS. It's not as reliable as commercial solutions like Parallels Desktop, but it's a great way to experiment with other OSes, or get access to a Windows app without a BootCamp restart.