The Top 7 Mac Power Utilities You Can’t Live Without.

Everyone’s Mac is a bit different. Not just the hardware side, there’s probably more in common with hardware than anything else. It’s how we customize our Macs that makes them really personal.

As a long-time Mac user (original 128k Mac; $2,495 with nothing on it) I’ve tried, thrown away, collected more than my share of Mac utilities. Some are used just to try them out but seldom get used again (can you say “iVeZeen?”). Some utilities are must have because they’re just so perfect for the task.

Secure file transfers with the FTP application Transmit is one example. It’s not on my list because it’s really a “specialty” application. Not everyone needs to transfer files. My Top 7 List of Mac Power Utilitities You Must Have (and can’t live without) is a list of utilities that virtually all of us can use; if we’re not using them, we should be.

If I had the money, I’d round up all Mac users and give each of you these 7 Mac Power Utilities. And you’d thank me. However, money is an object, so I’ll simply revert to the old fashioned way—a solid recommendation for each of the 7 (actually, 8; number 7 is a tie). Compare these utilities with your own experiences.

#1 - Best Mac Utility Ever
This honor belongs to James Thompson’s Drag Thing. There’s plenty of launchers around; some are quite good. This one is great. I’ve had it since the Mac OS 8/9 days and can’t imagine using a Mac without it. Drag Thing is much more than a launcher. It’s the short-cut window to your Mac. Totally customizable, simple to set up, and with more features that you can grow into.

It’s so good, I don’t understand why Apple hasn’t copied it and dropped it in as iLauncher or something. They did that with Sherlock vs. Watson, right?

Try Drag Thing. Try it for a week. Dink around with it. You won’t be sorry. Drag Thing can be set up to do some wonderful things; one click look at your hard disk; use it as a launcher for applications, utilities, documents, and much more. try the floating Processes Dock, or the handy Disk Dock. Click Here to view the features and download. It’ll be the best $29 you’ll spend on your Mac.

#2 - Best Mac Backup Utility Ever
Of course, this one is free for the basic version, and if it backs up your system and your hard drive dies, it’ll automatically be the best money you never spent on your Mac.

SuperDuper is the best backup utility on Mac OS X and I’ve tried all the good ones. What I like about SuperDuper is ease of use, simplicity, AND, a steady learning curve to some very advanced features.

The basic version (free) will simply clone your hard drive to another drive. Valuable files I still move to CD or DVD and get them out of the house for safe keeping. But the Mac “system” with files, utilities, applications, music, photos, movies, and so on doesn’t move well to CD or DVD.

SuperDuper clones the extra hard drive in record time. Better than that, SD will also undo a bad install from an errant application, or undo a bad Mac OS X upgrade or update. Click Here for the list of features and free download.

#3 - Best Mac Web Page Album Utility Ever
There’s just something about OS X that attracts quality developers. If you’ve ever wanted to take a gazillion digital photos and make a gallery, JAlbum is the ONLY application to look at.

You don’t have to publish all those photos to a web site, either. Publish them to a folder on your Mac and burn on a CD. Then share the gallery of photos with friends and relatives.

JAlbum has so many features it’s impossible to list them all. What’s great about this list of Mac Power Utilities is that you get to try them out. For free. Oh, did I mention that JAlbum is free. It isn’t often that the very best application in a given category is also free. JAlbum is. Click Here to read the details and download. Try for yourself. If you don’t like it, tell me.

#4 - Best Mac Graphic Utility Ever
Once you’ve used this application, there won’t be much argument. Now, for what it’s worth, this is not an application from Adobe or Macromedia or any major Mac developer. Fireworks, Photoshop, Illustrator, et al, win the features war hands down. You’ll pay through the nose for those applications.

“You get to use it free during evaluation, but it’ll be the best $30 graphic application you can get.”GraphicConverter is free to try, costs less, tastes great, and is less filling.

It also works so well you’ll wonder why someone didn’t mention it before. If you’ve used GraphicConverter already, you know what I’m talking about. Think of it as a mini-Photoshop/Illustrator application built by the same folks who design Swiss Army Knives for a living.

Every graphic file format I could find is in GraphicConverter, as are most tools you’re likely to use in Photoshop Elements or Fireworks. GraphicConverter imports 175 files formats and exports 75. It’s optimized for G4 and G5 Macs.

You get to use it free during evaluation, but it’ll be the best $30 graphic application you can get. Compare that to $89 for Photoshop Elements, or $629 for Photoshop CS (yes, it’s not Apple’s to apples, but this is a budget utility).

Click Here for a look at the features list, and to download.

That’s 4 of the Top 7. Remember, #7 is a tie, so there’s really 8 utilities. Click Here for the next 4 Mac Power Utilities You Must Have.

By the way, Mac360 gives daily Mac updates on Twitter. If you Twitter, give Mac360 a tweet. One more thing. Only the best Mac software gets reviewed on Ron's NoodleMac site. Check it out.

Off Topic Note: The latest Mac software updates and a special RSS feed are available on the NoodleMac site (certified Mac software reviews). Are you ready for a new web site that’s all about Apple but mostly for professionals? AppleHits covers the Mac, iPhone, iPod, and everything else that’s a hit at Apple.

Guess what? Kate Mac is back on her own site after her year long flirtation with Microsoft Windows. One more thing: Ron has gone solo with his new McSolo site.