TOP 10 must have programs for OS X

Once upon a time, a stereotype formed and firmly settled in the minds of users that programs for Apple laptops running their own OS X operating system are hard to find, while for Windows laptops have already developed everything a user could dream of. Perhaps this stereotype was justified a few years ago, but today the situation has changed dramatically — the largest players in the software market have turned their attention to the system that is gaining popularity, and there are plenty of unique software for OS X. There are plenty to choose from, and the quality is often very good.

Below is our selection of must-have programs for users, who just bought their first ultra-thin MacBook Air< span style="colour: rgb(34, 34, 34);"> or performance MacBook Pro. For better information, we have provided each with a description of the main features and advantages compared to competitors, as well as links to download pages (in the Mac App Store or developer sites).

1. Dropbox

Programme type: cloud storage Cost: free Download

There is a saying that the most reliable medium of information is paper. The modern world has also added flash drives and external hard drives, and today also cloud services, which are absolutely free to use. And Dropbox is not in vain the most famous among them.

After registration, everyone gets 2 GB of free space, and with simple manipulations, you can significantly expand this volume or simply buy the necessary memory. Then install the Dropbox for Mac app and get another directory in the Finder folder list.

By default, the contents of the Dropbox directory are synchronized with the cloud and the file added to it will be protected from loss. Yes, and access to it can be obtained from any browser and many applications supporting the service for mobile platforms. Dropbox is perfect for storing documents, but nothing prevents you from uploading photo archives and even movies to it, as long as there is enough memory for all the content.

2. The Unarchiver

OS X has a good set of software out of the box, but the system does not know how to work with standard Windows archives created by standard tools. Of course, you can rely on luck and never meet the .zip format, but it's better to play it safe. Moreover, the application is extremely easy to find in the Mac App Store and it is free.

After installation into the system, the programme automatically opens all archives, in no way inferior to the basic OS X archiver in speed. Also, its unobtrusiveness is an important advantage. — if you do not change the initial settings, you will not be required to confirm any operations. Double-clicked on the file, waited for unpacking, received the contents of the archive in the same folder. Very handy.

3. Punto Switcher

Programme type: automatic keyboard layout switching Cost: free Download

Punto Switcher is an essential programme for Russian-speaking netizens. Just because it eliminates the need to constantly change the keyboard layout from Russian to English and vice versa, and also performs some other useful operations with text.

A small utility settles in the system tray and starts tracking all the text you enter (with the exception of applications that you will blacklist) by checking it against your extensive database of words and rules. When you type "ckjdj", Punto recognizes the Russian language and replaces the text with the correct "word". The same happens with the Russian layout.

In addition to correcting the entered text and switching the keyboard layout, the programme can change the case of text blocks, sound the typing process with the sound of an old typewriter, and search for selected text in Yandex. The search engine was included in the list for a reason — it was Yandex that developed and developed Punto Switcher.

4. 1Password

Programme type: secure storage of all passwords Cost: free Download

If you active user of the Web, they are well aware of the horror of losing the password to some useful but rare web resource. You need to go through recovery procedures, by all means “pull out” a letter from a spam box, waste time. But there is a solution — use the 1Password password vault.

Its most important advantage is that the database is securely encrypted, and if you use the programme in conjunction with the Dropbox cloud, then passwords will be synchronized between several computers.

The application for OS X can integrate into popular browsers (Safari, Firefox, Chrome) and offer both saving entered passwords and inserting them. In fact, it looks like this: open the page, click on the application icon on the browser panel, select the login (if there are several) — and you are on the site under your account. You can speed up the process even more with button combinations, but this is optional.

5. Evernote

Programme type: note taking and storage Cost: free Download

Evernote wins more and more users with its well-aimed message — "remember everything." This note-taking web service is actually much more than just digitized notes. Evernote can save text notes with formatting, image and audio, and all text and graphics content (including PDF) is recognized and indexed for search.

You catalog, write notes, tag them, and then easily search for a photo by the name of the company captured on it or an entry already covered in dust by a keyword. In addition to these already outstanding skills, Evernote has its own search query language.

Our verdict is one of the best digital notepads on the market today. If you don't like it, then most likely you are a fierce supporter of classic paper laptops. The programme is available both for free and in a paid premium version. But a new user definitely doesn’t need to pay anything, just download the client on Mac (there is a web version, but the application is still more convenient) and register.

Software type: Best Mac video player Cost: Free Download

6. VLC

VLC is the best video player on Mac and it can also play music. Against the background of Quick Time, it stands out for its omnivorousness (it will play virtually any video found on the Internet) and flexibility.

Not very advanced users will appreciate the excellent basic setup — everything works fine. VLC is friendly with subtitles, understands the audio tracks of the file and allows you to add your own, rationally consumes computer resources, and even supports gesture commands from the MacBook trackpad and mouse Magic Mouse.

Programme type: torrent tracker Cost: free Download

7. uTorrent

There are some interesting torrenting apps on the Mac, but experienced users recommend betting on the trusted uTorrent. Its undeniable advantage is the ability to squeeze out the maximum speed when downloading, which is especially important with not very fast Internet connections. There are also a variety of settings, shortcuts for organizing feeds, RSS subscriptions to torrent feeds, and many other goodies. And it's all free.

8. Clean My Mac

Programme type: system junk cleaner Cost: free Download

Clean My Mac is a useful application for maintaining your OS X computer clean and tidy. The programme can clean up garbage from the very depths of the system, remove unnecessary language files from software packages, clear the Internet cache, and even periodically empty the trash.

The interface is very attractive, no special knowledge is required for operation, and the application functions without failures. Such a workhorse, which in its main menu modestly informs about the amount of freed disk space: 5 GB, 23 GB, 58 GB...

9. Pixelmator

Programme type: image editors Cost: free Download

Image editors are becoming more and more in demand — there is no escape from this reality. Clean up the picture from an extra object (like a friend who got into the frame at the wrong time), adjust colours, tighten the brightness — the list of operations can be continued for a long time, but they are often required. Unless you shoot exclusively on the iPhone, process it, and upload all photos only to Instagram.

There are many automatic image processing tools for Mac, but we still recommend a more functional tool — Pixelmator. This graphic editor is not in vain called “nedophotoshop”, because it really is endowed with many features of a professional programme. But at the same time, it has a much easier to learn interface and a humane price. Definitely worth learning how to work with Pixelmator, your photos will greatly benefit from it!

10. Google Chrome

Programme type: browser Cost: free Download

from any programme, but a computer without a browser in the modern world turns into an intricate box with some computing capabilities. But why then not the proprietary browser Apple Safari, namely Google Chrome? If we single out the main trump cards of the browser created by Google, then it speaks in its favor:

is an online store with thousands of add-ons and programs. With their help, you can incredibly expand the capabilities of the browser and integrate a variety of web services into it.

— Binding to a Google account. Most of us use multiple computers, as well as mobile devices and tablets. Usually, they rarely belong to the same ecosystem, which creates some difficulties. So, Chrome allows you to synchronize bookmarks, passwords and even open tabs between OS X, Windows, Android and iOS, which is very convenient.

Of course, there are many other advantages that you will certainly appreciate while working with the browser . It's free and available on a dedicated Google page.