Software, Hardware, Nachos, and SuperChexx

Masuga Design Setup

I always find it interesting to find out what people are using to get their work done or to kill time in the office. As far as killing time, I’ve got the mini basketball hoop with the breakaway rim, and a SuperChexx machine. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of time to kill so these don’t get used nearly as much as they should. As for nachos, let’s say that more lunch breaks than any other have been “Powered By Nachos.”

I often find that someone is using a piece of software or hardware that I’ve never heard of that they consider indispensable. Here’s a list of what I’m using on a daily basis. Maybe you’ll find something useful that you didn’t know existed.

Hardware

I love my Macs. But I’m not one of those psychos that thinks just because they use a Mac that everything they use needs to come out of Cupertino, CA. Dell makes great monitors, and, well…Microsoft makes a decent mouse, I guess (although I recently ditched their mouse in favor of Logitech mice). My basic hardware looks like this:

  • 17” MacBook Pro (2.6GHz, 4GB RAM, Hi-def screen)
  • Dell 23” 2405FPW Monitor (office)
  • Dell 20” 2007WFP Monitor (home office)
  • Epson Perfection 2400 Photo Scanner
  • 8GB iPhone
  • Western Digital USB Passport drives for music library and Time Machine backups

Software

ExpanDrive
ExpanDrive
Almost feels as if the remote server is a FireWire drive connected to my machine. Response time is quite good, and this app allows me to work on remote sites with Textmate without having to have Transmit open.
CSSEdit
CSSEdit
This app has greatly increased my speed in developing CSS files. After the first couple clunky weeks learning a new piece of software, I found that some things I was doing would have taken me four times as long. This program is excellent at helping to break down and understand complex webpages. Worth every penny.
VMware Fusion
VMware Fusion
For my money, this app is the fastest and best way to quickly check my work in Windows browsers. I think the overall speed of this application blows Parallels away. Once I installed it...I never looked back. I can accidentally keep a window open all day and it doesn't use up too many resources. Truly owning an Intel-based MacBook is owning more than a single computer in one!
Quicksilver
Quicksilver
Honestly, as nice as I think the Mac OS is, I'm not sure how I used it before I started using Quicksilver. If I get on someone else's machine and the ol' QS isn't installed, I need to regroup for a minute to figure out how I'm going to find things. Quicksilver, you are the silent master. The unsung hero. The constant companion. The wind beneath my wings. I bow to your powers.
FontExplorerX
FontExplorerX
Made by Linotype, this is the iTunes of font library software. I used to be a big fan of Font Reserve, and even FontAgent, but nothing has worked better for me than FontExplorerX. And how can you beat the price? It's free. If you use a Mac, use lots of fonts, and don't use this - you're either crazy or you just aren't aware this is out there.
PathFinder
PathFinder
Taking the Finder to a new level of usefulness. So much so, that I can go days without actually seeing or needing the Finder. Version 3 was good, but version 4 made this an "everyday use" app for me.
Transmit
Transmit
FTP file transfer software. Yeah, there are free things out there, but this just feels good, and it's quick. Also, you can have multiple connections open all in one window through the use of tabs. Love tabs. Love 'em.
NetNewsWire
NetNewsWire
Yeah, I know I can read RSS feeds online, but this app is so nice, and I can sync it between my two machines. I don't read an incredible amount of sites (I have only 48 feeds as of this writing) but it saves a vast amount of time in getting me the info I like to have on a daily basis.
Super Duper!
Super Duper!
Automated backup software. Does what it is supposed to do and stays out of your way.
iBiz
iBiz
Excellent time-tracking app. I use this whenever I'm doing anything, whether it's billable or not, because I find I can give much more accurate estimates with all that data. "It took me 3.5 hours to do that?!"
Navicat
MySQL GUI for OS X. This is a lot more expensive than CocoaMySQL (which is free), but I find the structure and data syncing have been worth every penny for me, in addition to the ease of managing users. This app has definitely helped speed up my workflow.
OmniOutliner Professional
OmniOutliner Professional
This app keeps me from having way too many pieces of scrap-paper laying around. Couple this with Kinkless (kGTD) and you always know what you have to be doing.
Color Schemer Studio
Color Schemer Studio
This is a fantastic app for creating and refining color schemes. You can also download existing schemes created by other users.
Photoshop
Photoshop
Image editing. I do all my slicing for the web in this program, although I've heard that Fireworks is great for this.
Textmate
Textmate
Text-editing software that I believe is the best there is on the Mac, bar none. And the developer is really friendly, answering questions in person on IRC.