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Apr 27 2009

The Best of 2003

Once again, the year in freeware!

Best on the Web: Safari

This year saw Apple return to the browser. Better than IE was a given, but Apple showed its attentiveness to user feedback in adding tabs to the beta. Responsiveness and features took the prize from last years winner, Chimera (now Camino).

Freeware Classic: OpenOffice.org

A free, stable alternative to Microsoft Office. It requires X11 support, but Apple’s on top of that. Sun orphaned Sun Office for classic Mac OS years ago, but thanks to the project and OS X’s X11 support, free office is back. OpenOffice.org is where OS X’s Unix core meets all that is right with the world of open source software.

System Extension: Unsanity’s Menu Extra Enabler

With Unsanity you’re never stuck missing features Apple thought you could do without. This app is no exception. While it made its debut in late 2002, I thought it deserved some props for its Panther compatibility.

Menu Item: ImageWell

This menu item is a lean, practical image editor. The ability to nab images from the clipboard, crop, annotate and frame them and then export a jpeg, upload to a server or .Mac account puts this head-and shoulders above many free graphics apps, let alone menu items.

Best Plug-in: httpmail plugin

Another open-source success story. This Mail.app plug-in takes one of Entourage’s last unique features: Hotmail support. From the early days of receive-only to today’s polished product, this plug-in has evolved into a must-have.

Best PC App: iTunes

Probably the most anticipated new program from Apple this year, built for the PC. This is the easy winner of our new PC category. Perfect feature parity and
a seamless cross-platform transition make iTunes for PC my pick.

Best New: JunkBroom

In another new category, I thought it fitting to honor this new free app. For Entourage users, this is about the smartest spam filter out there, and it’s free. The one thing I love more than free software – free software that takes a nuisance out of your life. Bravo, JunkBroom!

That’s it, the year’s best freeware. Stay tuned for another exciting year of the best in free with me,

Brian.

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Apr 27 2009

Server Encore

You provided me with some positive feedback and suggestions on last week’s server software feature, so this week we’re going to go another round.

Qwiki Wiki

Wiki brought simple, easy collaboration to the web. While most Wiki software is free, not all is easy to install. I’ve grabbed Qwiki Wiki for its ease of installation and use. Upload your files and edit one config file and you are on your wiki way.

SimpleForum

Continuing our theme of simplicity comes a find by our own MacManX. SimpleForum is a great, easy to install alternative to server-space hogging, hard to install forum systems.

MT Plugin Directory

Movable Type is the mainstay of power-bloggers. Don’t settle for the out of the box installation. One of the best features of Movable Type is customization and one of the best resources to customize MT is the MT Plugin Directory.

Jeff Schuler’s RSS Templates

Here’s another MT resource. Jeff has posted a collection of templates that will take your Movable Type RSS feeds to the next level.

That’s it for part 2. I expect to see some rocking sites. Join me again next week when we get back to Mac software.

Brian

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Apr 27 2009

Getting Things Done

Getting this done is important. Sometimes we get so mired in work that we don’t take time out to look at our tasks and be sure we’re spending time on important things. Hopefully this week’s free picks will help fix that.

Remember the Milk

Naturally, our first stop is a new AJAX powered Web 2.0 solution for task management. If you can get past the cow and the odd name, you’ll find RTM to be a very aesthetically pleasing and useful way to track tasks.

rtm Getting Things Done

There’s email reminders, iCal integration and more. The user forum is active and the developers very responsive to feedback. Of course, the service is free.

TaskToy

While we’re on the subject, there’s another great AJAX web-based solution. This one is perfect for those of you that want to get directly to business, and are less interested in the eye-candy interface of RTM. TaskToy supports email reminders and RSS subscriptions. Its a good, clean way to keep track of those tasks.

GanttProject

In a nod to the old-school, we have to feature this cross-platform Open Source project. GanttProject makes tracking projects easy, with advanced charting and scheduling features. This free solution is ideal for directing large projects with multiple collaborators.

SproutLiner

This AJAX solution allows for a more free-form approach to organizing thoughts and lists. This web-based services (also available for install on your own server) allows you to make instant, flexible lists defined by columns and rows you create.

sproutliner Getting Things Done

SproutLiner allows you to include any combination of check boxes, drop-down lists and freetext that you need to organize your information. Best of all, its AJAX implementation means no page reloading.

voo2do

Lastly, there’s voo2do. This web-based todo tracker is much like the first two. While the colorful interface might overwhelm you at first, you may find the feature set to fit your style. Tasks, notes, projects and deadlines are organized for easy access, and a history feature records what you’ve been up to.

That should be enough productivity tools to waste your afternoon. If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go prioritize my task list.

Brian

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