<![CDATA[Launchers & Desktop Launchers & Desktop Free (Launchers & Desktop > Utilities > Mac) (Launchers & Desktop > Utilities > Mac): Softonic]]> <![CDATA[Launchers & Desktop Launchers & Desktop Free (Launchers & Desktop > Utilities > Mac) (Launchers & Desktop > Utilities > Mac): Softonic]]> <![CDATA[Quicksilver 1.0 b68-Excellent multi-application launcher]]> Quicksilver is a handy app and folder launcher has quickly become one of the essential applications on Mac.

For those of you not familiar with Quicksilver, it's an application that lets you reach any program, folder or file in a few keystrokes. You don't have to go searching through your files, you don't have to worry about how your folders are arranged. For many, Quicksilver was a godsend in the pre-Spotlight Mac era. Although it's lost some of its importance with the new powerful search and Finder features in Leopard it still remains very much an excellent Mac application.

The search function is very quick and powerful and once you've found what you're looking for you can apply a number of actions like simply launching it, emailing or moving. What's more Quicksilver adapts to the file it finds, so if it's a document you'll get to modify or send it, and if it's an email you'll get to email or copy it. Quicksilver users also like the fact that the application learns from what you search to bring up what you search for or use most.

Quicksilver wouldn't be what it is without its large library of plugins though. This includes everything from dialing a phone number to interacting with iTunes or image and text manipulation. This means you can really customize the application to work according to your needs.

The only downside is the stability issues that Quicksilver seems to have. The application is noted to crash every once in a while.

Despite this stability issue, Quicksilver remains an incredibly intuitive and powerful multi-application launcher for Mac. Recommended for productivity geeks.

Download Quicksilver 1.0 b68 in Softonic

]]> <![CDATA[Winclone 2.2-Clone your Boot Camp partition]]> For anyone that has Mac OS X Tiger and is using Boot Camp, Winclone comes in really handy. The application makes it much more simple to clone multiple partitions. In this latest version, you can finally clone Microsoft Vista or you can stick to Windows XP. One of the nice features of the program is being able to clone on a separate drive or on the one where you have your Mac OS X partition. You can effectively manage multiple partitions of different operating systems on different drives, making it ideal for programmers and games and program testers.

What's more, Winclone will allow you to create a Boot Camp partition from the application itself and create image documents that can be stored on any media. Winclone is fairly speedy and is a great tool to have in a professional environment. All in all, it's a bit odd that Apple haven't included such a feature in Boot Camp.

Winclone is an excellent utility to clone multiple Boot Camp partitions quickly.

Download Winclone 2.2 in Softonic

]]> <![CDATA[DockDoctor 1.0-Mod your Leopard Dock]]> Ah the Leopard Dock, such a point of contention among the Mac crowd. Are you with the 3D effect or against it? Anyway you like it, it's what you'll have to put up with on Mac OS X 10.5, except if you decide to use a dock changer. DockDoctor is such an application, born from the success of the similarly named widget.

This application will allow you to add a rainbow touch, grass feel or dark glass look to your Dock, or more. DockDoctor has eight different dock looks to choose from. The application also allows you to switch easily between the 2D and 3D views. In all, nothing really revolutionary, but a fun utility if you like adjusting your interface. While we would have liked to see more options and possibilities, the ones made available in DockDoctor should satisfy most users.

DockDoctor lets you customize the 3D Leopard Dock with all sorts of different looks.

Download DockDoctor 1.0 in Softonic

]]> <![CDATA[ScreenShade 1.3-Dim your screen]]> I didn't really think you could find something better than the Apple brightness tool, yet ScreenShade is significantly more powerful.

With this application, you can easily darken your screen completely or make it really bright.

The program is accessible from the menu bar and pressing 'toggle ScreenShade' adjusts brightness according to the level of light in the room.

Press 'Redetect external monitors' to reset it and get a new brightness level. I wasn't all convinced by the level of light that ScreenShade chose though as most of the time it simply was too dim to work properly.

Best is probably to open preferences and set brightness yourself, via the little slider. You'll see you can also select what areas to shade.

ScreenShade also works very well with two simple shortcuts: Option with plus or minus to adjust it yourself.

More powerful than the brightness controls in your Mac, ScreenShade is good to have around if you work in poor lighting conditions.

Download ScreenShade 1.3 in Softonic

]]> <![CDATA[Dock Spaces 4.06-Have up to 10 Docks on your Mac]]> The Mac Dock is one of the simplest but most elegant features of Mac OS. However, its very easy to fill it up too quickly with lots of different programs. That's where Dock Spaces comes in.

Dock Spaces is a small application that allows you to have up to 10 different docks and switch between them anytime you want from the menu bar. The organizational possibilities are endless. You can have one for work, one for leisure, one for games, one for video players etc. No longer will you spend precious time scanning your dock trying to find the right application.

You have some control over customization such as choosing between 2D and 3D icons, adjusting the transparency and it also supports stacks and Growler notifications. The previous version was a little slow switching from one Dock to another but the latest version, which is fully Snow Leopard compatible, makes it almost instantaneous meaning you don't miss a beat accessing your different Docks and applications. However, it is still occasionally subject to crashes and instability so use it with care.

There really isn't much to criticize about Dock Spaces other than it will probably tempt you to go crazy on installing new apps as organizing applications has never been easier.

Download Dock Spaces 4.06 in Softonic

]]> <![CDATA[iCPU 1.1-An application that shows your CPU load]]> Download iCPU 1.1 in Softonic

]]> <![CDATA[ClearDock 1.4.1-Change the dock view]]> ClearDock is a little system preferences plug-in that comes under the wing of Unsanity's Application Enhancer. You'll be able to change the color for all the elements that constitute your Dock bar (except the application icons of course), which means the border, fill and the little triangles under application icons. The application includes the typical color palette window for you to customize your Dock. You'll also be able to save a new Dock or revert to the default semi-transparent one.

The only real annoying thing with ClearDock is that changes aren't effective immediately. You'll have to restart you're Mac whether applying a new Dock or reverting to the default one. Apart from that, ClearDock is a good addition to Application Enhancer, which lets you add a bit of spice to the Dock menu.

Download ClearDock 1.4.1 in Softonic

]]> <![CDATA[Screen Spanning Doctor 0.3.3-Activate extended mode]]> If you've been searching for a way to use your iBook in extended mode then look no more, Screen Spanning Doctor will do the trick.

Extended mode is where you use two or more screens together.

It's great if you're doing design work, want to share screens, or need more space. It also looks really cool, especially when moving windows between screens.

Screen Spanning Doctor will automatically change Open Firmware settings to allow extended mode in your machine. Just launch the application, choose 'enable spanning', restart, and you'll have extended mode.

Screen Spanning Doctor won't work with all machines though, so you'll have to make sure your Mac is supported before testing it out. Also be aware that it can have unpredictable effects on your Mac, simply because it isn't officially supported by Mac.

That said though, it really is the easiest way to activate extended mode on an iBook in seconds. You can also simply choose 'disable spanning' to stop using it.

Download Screen Spanning Doctor 0.3.3 in Softonic

]]> <![CDATA[Todos 1.5-Application launcher that displays the every program's icon]]> Download Todos 1.5 in Softonic

]]> <![CDATA[DragApps 1.0-Drag and drop actions for your Mac]]> DragApps is a collection of five different drag and drop actions to save you time when working with your Mac.

All you need to do is drag and drop a file onto one of the five different applications depending on what you want to do with it: set as background, create a DMG, import to iPhoto, play in Quicktime or convert to Zip. Dragapps obviously makes use of one of the best features associated with the mouse in drag and drop.

We welcome any application that makes your life on your Mac easier and DragApps is exactly that kind of program. However it's unfortunately too limited to probably become an essential desktop tool. For one, not all of the five actions available are considered absolutely necessary. How many Mac users actually convert files to DMG? Also, don't most Quicktime files open up automatically in the player anyway? DragApps would be a really great application if it could allow you to choose which application or action you would like to associate with drag and drop. As it stands it's useful but limited.

DragApps lets you carry out five very specific actions via drag and drop.

Download DragApps 1.0 in Softonic

]]> <![CDATA[Butler 4.1.11-Customize and simplify your tasks]]>

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]]> <![CDATA[Hawkscope 0.6.3-Access all your folders and files from the menu bar]]>

Hawkscope is a Java based application that aims at increasing your productivity by allowing you to access your hard drive contents via a menubar icon with a dynamic pop-up menu. Hawkscope enables you to access a dynamic pop-up menu that allows you to find your files and folders without touching Finder or double clicking folders. Just move your mouse cursor to the Hawkscope icon in your menu bar and the menu with all your folders and files will pop-up.

Want to access your music for example? Just move your mouse cursor over the Hawkscope logo, select your user folder and your music folder appears without a click necessary. All of your major drives and folders are instantly accessible. However, the only problem you may encounter is if you have to access networked drives. It takes Hawkscope a while to map the location of the drive and during this time, you can't browse anything else effectively "locking" the program.

You can add a blacklist of folders that Hawkscope should not access from the options menu and that's your best bet for avoiding this problem.

Hawkscope is an interesting way to avoid using Finder and obtain instant access to your files and programs although I won't be dumping finder quite yet.

Download Hawkscope 0.6.3 in Softonic

]]> <![CDATA[ParaDocks 4.0-OS 9-inspired application switcher]]> If you're not satisfied with the application switching possibilities that the Dock offers, then you'll probably enjoy what Paradocks has in store.

Paradocks is a clone of the classic application launcher that was used in OS 9. It works by creating a floating window in the menu bar containing the icons of all applications you're currently using and allows you to switch between them instantly. Although I never used OS 9, Paradocks reminds me a bit of the way you can switch between applications in Windows along the bottom tool bar.

You can customize Paradocks to a certain extent, and it allows you to change its size, location on the desktop, transparency level, icon appearance, switch between a vertical or horizontal menu bar, and configure hotkeys to access it. It is definitely easier than scouring through your Dock to see which applications you have got open.

Although Paradocks is a nice idea, it doesn't really offer anything that Dock switching doesn't. However, I can definitely see how Windows users that have just switched to Mac might find it helpful.

If you're nostalgic for OS 9 or are have just switched to Mac from Windows, you may find Paradocks a handy utility.

Download ParaDocks 4.0 in Softonic

]]> <![CDATA[Focus 2.7-See what application is active]]> Focus is for you people out there that open up many applications and folders and want to reach your frontmost applications in a snap.

Unassuming yet surprisingly useful, Focus is also highly customizable. You can be notified via either a discreet icon in the bottom left of the screen or a floating transparent icon. The great thing about Focus though is the advanced customization. The application allows you to set the transparancy level, size, position and layering of the icon. You can also choose from nine screen positions or simply have the icon appear anywhere.

Furthermore, the icon will appear with a clock, digital or analog, which looks nice and is always useful. The latest version is Spaces compatible, meaning it will work in each environment. We recommend it if you use a lot of programs at the same. You sometimes accidentally close a program window but not the whole application, making it difficult to know if the application is still active or not. You can still click on Dock items to find out, but Focus simply makes the icon look more gorgeous.

Focus is a neat way of showing your frontmost application when you have lots of programs open.

Download Focus 2.7 in Softonic

]]> <![CDATA[What's Keeping Me? 1.3-Helps ejecting and trashing stuff]]> I very rarely have issues with my Mac, but when they do arise these often have to do with conflicts between applications. What's Keeping Me? allows you to find and kill programs which are keeping your Mac from running normally.

I did find the application a little counter-intuitive. Instead of telling you which program is causing the trouble, it instead offers you a search box, and you'll have to type the name of the trouble maker.

If you don't know which one it is, then you're pretty much out of luck.

I didn't find the search function that effective either. Or it was sluggish or it simply couldn't find a program which blatantly caused the problem.

However I did like having the possibility to either kill or quit an application.

The concept for What's Keeping Me? is very interesting, however I still believe sticking to 'Force Quit' is your best option when a program is causing you trouble.

Download What's Keeping Me? 1.3 in Softonic

]]> <![CDATA[Sleep Display 1.0-Put to sleep your iMac display]]> Download Sleep Display 1.0 in Softonic

]]> <![CDATA[Warp 1.2 B1-Use Spaces better]]> One of the new features integrated in Leopard is Spaces, which lets you create separate spaces on your Mac to keep it tidy, like one for work and one for games.

If you've gotten accustomed to working with Spaces, you might like this preference pane item. Instead of controlling your different spaces with your keyboard it'll let you use your mouse.

Just drag it to one side of the screen to see a preview screen of the next space. Clicking it will bring you to it. Warp also handles multiple monitors and is a great way of switching effortlessly between them.

From the settings, you'll be able to set activation delay time and activate a cool Asteroids style wrap around effect when switching between spaces.

Warp is easy to install and uninstall, like any other preference pane.

Warp lets you switch between Spaces just by using your mouse.

Download Warp 1.2 B1 in Softonic

]]> <![CDATA[Semulov 1.3-Your mounted volumes in your menu bar]]> For people who work with many volumes connected at once onto their Mac, get around them all can be a real pain. Semulov lists all your mounted volumes from your menu bar.

The software appears as a discreet eject icon in your menu bar, with the number of mounted volumes next to it. Click on the icon and a drop down list of all your volumes, divided by type, will appear.

Semulov shows startup and internal drives as well as external ones, disks, disk images and networks. You can choose to eject volumes individually or all at once.

What Semulov really lacks are proper explanations. Even though it may not be very difficult to use, it would have been nice to have some guide as to how to use it and how you can set the preferences.

Despite the lack of information, Semulov is a very handy tool to show all your volumes at once and eject them in a click. And it's free!

Download Semulov 1.3 in Softonic

]]> <![CDATA[aLaunch 4.2.5-Super fast app launcher for Macs]]> aLaunch (was aLunch) is an easy-to-customize application launcher that you can access from your menu bar.

Want to add an application to access quickly? No problem - just CMD click, access the preferences and select the applications that you'd like to access quickly. You can chose to display icons in 16-64 pixels. You can even add files and folders that you regularly access with aLaunch.

Different categories can be registered by using groups and separators and by clicking on the "Application menu", all the applications can be hidden. There's not much more too aLaunch than that other than you can set up a hot key so that the contents of the menu are displayed in a launcher window.

aLaunch is super simple and effective. You may find it a bit unstable from time to time but it could definitely speed-up your productivity.

Download aLaunch 4.2.5 in Softonic

]]> <![CDATA[Namely 2.0.3b1-Open applications by typing a number]]> Download Namely 2.0.3b1 in Softonic

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