Review: Free DigiTools For Mac OS X. 6 Tools, 2 Utilities

You gotta be impressed with the state of Macdom these days. New PowerMac G5’s, iMac G5, iPod reigns as King of portable music, iTunes Music Store is whoopin’ butt, and Mac OS X gets kudos from everyone (except Bill Gates) from schools to enterprise IT pros to SuperComputer users.

The state of utilities and handy applications on Mac OS X has never been better. A UK outfit, Megaworks, has updated and released for freeware DigiTools. This suite of utility applications is a must have for utility buffs, and handy for everyone else.

What’s in DigiTools? How does it work? First, it’s a small, floating window with icons for each application. Click on one, and it pops up on the left hand corner of your Mac.

Second, the applications themselves are similar to other utility applications except the developers managed to integrate some features and tools and uses not found in any one application.

1 - Word Processing
Here’s a handy little version of a word processor. Yes, Mac OS X has TextEdit already. But it doesn’t have a word count and man is that handy (otherwise, you’ll have to fork over money for Microsoft’s Word or some other package). This one is just there and ready to help you out.

2 - Calculator
You can never have too many calculators on your Mac, right? DigiTools calculator is small, handy, and has a paper tape.

3 - Decimal Converter
Here you ever wanted to convert to metric units? Now you can. Click. Up pops a small window waiting for your entry. Click again and it’s gone.

4 - Dictionary
I’m really glad DigiTools is free. I hate having to open up Word or AppleWorks just to find out the meaning or spelling of a word. DigiTools’ dictionary is quick and simple. A thesaurus would be nice.

5 - Image Viewer
Yes, Mac OS X has an image viewer. It doesn’t have DigiTools’ handy full screen and Open and Save menu selections. Again, this is a thoughtful touch that adds value to something not already available within Mac OS X.

6 - Movie Player
Whoops. Doesn’t Mac OS X come with QuickTime Player? Isn’t QuickTime the cat’s pajamas of media players? Yes to both queries, my friend. However, if you’re not too kindly disposed to QuickTime’s brushed aluminum look, you’ll love the simplicity of DigiTool’s movie player. There’s no pull-down menu. One click opens a dialog box to find a file. One click for Full Screen.

It’ll double up and play more than QuickTime .mov files: AVI, DivX, Aiff, MP3, and more.

Again, DigiTools is handy.

There’s two bonus applications included with this freeware version of DigiTools. These are similar to two Mac OS X utility applications, but handle features differently.

7 - Font Viewer
Another one? Don’t we have enough fonts to look at with Mac OS X’s Font Book? Yes. Here’s another one for your entertainment pleasure. Font Viewer allows you to color the fonts as you’re viewing them. That’s handy for graphic artists and those using fonts in page layout. Amazingly, fonts look different depending on color and background. You get both with Font Viewer. Not with Font Book in Mac OS X. Oh, one more thing: brushed aluminum look is back in Font Viewer

8 - Sticky Notes Tool
I couldn’t figure out what this one does differently than Apple’s Stickies, which is included in Mac OS X.

I use Stickies to hold odds and ends information that I need from time to time (login ID’s, passwords, and so on). IF this sticky notes tool does anything different, let me know. It’s hard to beat the price, though.

Why is MegaWorks offering the DigiTools suite for free? A note from Joshua Coventry of MegaWorks in the UK says DigiTools is free and will always be free, mostly because there’s similar functionality with other Mac OS X utilities. He also says there’s work on an upgrade to the Sticky Notes component of DigiTools.

The fact that the developer would respond positively to a review says something about the Mac community and the developer. I’m impressed.

Free is good. Mostly, but not always. Perhaps there’s little market for tools so similar to what’s including in Mac OS X. Regardless, these are decent tools that seem to work well. Your mileage may vary.

MacUpdate users gave DigiTools a 4 Star Rating. So, it’s worth a Look See, don’t you think? Click Here for a list of the DigiTools features and the download link.

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