Bargain Barrell: The Best Of Low End Mac Apps.

This whole week has been like showing my Mac’s underwear. High end, low end, Professional applications galore. Now the fun begins.

For the most part, these applications are just excellent at what they do, compete against applications that cost more money, but come from developers who love the Mac platform; they’ve found a need and created a solution.

In many cases, these so-called “low end” solutions are anything but. In this quick review of the “low end” applications on my Mac, they’re low end only because they’re free or don’t cost much.

JAlbum
I know, I know. I’m sounding like a broken record. I admit it.

Find me a better application that does digital photo galleries for web pages and I’ll buy it. Fortunately, JAlbum is also free, which qualifies well for the low end scene.

NewsFire
If you haven’t stuck your toe into RSS feeds, download NewsFire and give it a whirl. NetNewsWire is better, has more features and a price tag. NewsFire (so far) doesn’t and it works great, especially if you’re new to RSS.

I like NewsFire because it doesn’t get in my way with too many things to click on—except the headlines and summary of about 50 web sites. Now I can “visit” each site, see what I like, click what I want, without having to click to all 50 sites. Big time saver, folks.

FreeRuler
I just love this application. Yeah, it’s free so it’s an affair to remember, but seldom does a developer get it right on the first try and FreeRuler is just soooo right.

If you do graphics or web work there’s always a need to measure from one point to another on your screen. FreeRuler sits on your screen with a horizonal and vertical ruler—measure away, kids. I’ve never looked at the instructions.

SuperDuper!
OK, you caught me. SuperDuper! is also on my High End list? Well, here you can have it both ways. SuperDuper! will clone your hard drive to another backup hard drive.

The “pay” version comes with more features than you ever thought possible, including a “roll back” function that lets you overcome those pesky Updates Gone Wrong™ that seem to happen with an Apple update from time to time.

Get ready. SuperDuper! is also FREE. ShirtPocket software is so confident that you’ll like SuperDuper! that they’ll let you backup your Mac for nada, nothing, a freebie.

What else is low end and sitting on my Mac? It’s a big list. Here’s what I like best:

iStumbler - helps my laptop find wireless networks on the road.
Amadeus - great audio application for editing; excellent
Camino - want a Safari alternative that’s fast and free?
Transmit - best FTP/SFTP application for the price.

So, what’s the best “low end” application on your Mac? Do you have a list of favorites? Willing to share with other Mac readers? Tell us what’s on your machine. Click on Comments below.

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