Freeware/Shareware App you couldn't live without?

[sauce]

I'm desperate for a good font manager, Extensis Suitcase is too slow. Auto-loading would be a plus but I know that's not possible with WinXP for some strange reason.

[SlaveToTheMan]

This is a real Oldie but Goody:

RGB File Finder

Only runs in OS9 or earlier, it will scan a whole folder of rasterized images & tell you if any are, well, RGB! It's simple, but there's nothing like it I can find. FlightCheck is bloated, don't even go there.

I've added it to the Downloads on the left nav pane under "Files & Links" so have at it! 8)

[SlaveToTheMan]

Update:

When I added it to the Downloads here, the file had spaces in its' name - that's no good. ops:

Here's the right DL, until Cory gets it updated.

[panamaquono]

I downloaded Linotype FontExplorer X - it's free, I have had no problems with it, It automatically scans documents and tells me if I have the fonts or not, then activates them automatically if needed via plug-in, and when Initially I scanned my computer for fonts I didn't have to activate all my fonts - only the ones I wanted - and out of 10,000+ I only use about 200, so when I load programs at startup it doesn't take forever to scan active fonts. It used to take like ten minutes to startup Photoshop and Illustrator - now it's almost instant.
This program was a life saver for me.

[ATG204]

just downloaded Desktop manager, man that is wild! I'll have to get that at home as well.

[Kalessin]

Kodak were running demonstrations of Prinergy at IPEX last year and they simulated different users by switching desktops using VirtueDesktops. I think the guy was a bit ticked off that my one question after the presentation was about the virtual desktop software. Turns out VirtueDesktops is the continuation of the Desktop Manager project which was discontinued some time ago, apparently. VirtueDesktops certainly has more features, and is available as a universal binary.

I also use Mail Unread Menu because it's nice and unobtrusive; I have my dock on auto-hide so I don't always see the notifications. Plus, my Mail sits in a different desktop

Whilst on the subject of Mail, there's a nice plugin called Letterbox, which switches Mail.app to widescreen mode. As a former user of Outlook, I'm more used to this orientation and it makes better use of my widescreen display too.

Finally, I know VersionTracker already covers this and more besides, but I like it at iusethis where you can tick off which apps you use, then see what others are using.

For the record, I'm not afiliated with any of the above, although on re-read I sound like a fanboy ops:

[MWCDan]

With out a doubt one piece of software has changed how I use my Mac everyday almost every operation.
Quicksilver [www.blacktree.com]

search on steriods.

Or you could try Launchbar, same thing cept different.[/url]

[rocketjam]

Shameless plug: Scaletron! a scaling/resolution calculator. It's free and you can download it from rocketjam.com.

And I whole-heartedly second the Quicksilver suggestion. As the documentation says, once you get used to it, any Mac you sit at that doesn't have it installed will seem broken.

[Jezza]

Nice shameless plug Welcome aboard, I pluged myself yesterday - Only Blog Spam

I've no wish to steal your thunder but isn't there a free Widget (who's name escapes me) available that will do just what you're offering? However if yours is Cocoa I have a great deal of respect for you. Seriously.

Regarding Quicksilver, I'd use it apart for the fact it's a kext isn't it? That's a broken Mac straight away...

(one edit for a typo)

[rocketjam]

Originally Posted by Jezza

I've no wish to steal your thunder but isn't there a free Widget (who's name escapes me) available that will do just what you're offering? However if yours is Cocoa I have a great deal of respect for you. Seriously.

Regarding Quicksilver, I'd use it apart for the fact it's a kext isn't it? That's a broken Mac straight away...)

Don't know if there's a widget or not, although I've had a couple of users ask me to make Scaletron! available as a widget. It's on my list of things-to-do-eventually. Hey, Scaletron! has been around since OS 9 days. It's up to version 3! It is a Cocoa app (the OS X version, that is), but I wrote it w/AppleScript Studio, so all the Cocoa programming was done for me. :wink:

Regarding Quicksilver, no it's not a kext, it's just an app. I've not seen it do anything bad to a machine, and we use it on all the workstations here and I have it on both of my home machines too.