Andrew Gormley, keeping designs well-oiled since 1985.
 

Software Switcheroo

Every now and then when I set my system up exactly how I like, I decide to take a walk on the wild side with my software.  This invariably ends with me AppZapping the hell out of things I don’t particularly need or want after a day, but these tangents have often lead me to a few cool programs, which I’d like to share with you right now.

 

  1. AudialHub
    Although by no means an obscure program, it is a good one.  Unfortunately, the developer hung up his hat shortly after releasing this guy into the wild, so it’s not acquirable through any legal channels but well worth a look-see.  The basic functionality is converting any audio format imaginable to any other audio format imaginable (good for your purist friends who swear by FLAC).  I used to use a program called Max to handle this exact task, but AudialHub has a great one-window area and simple, intuitive controls for quality and output.
  2. RipIt
    Other than having an insanely cool icon, this little program is actually pretty damn handy.  After inserting a DVD, the program tells you how many GBs the DVD rip will take up (generally anywhere from 4.7GB to 7.5GB), gives you a field to name the rip, and two simple buttons: Eject or Rip.  Assuming you go through with it, a rip takes anywhere from 20-45 minutes depending on the length of the movie, your processor speed, blah blah blah.  In the end, you have one file that easily opens in DVD Player or VLC.  No need to worry about VIDEO_TS or AUDIO_TS folders, this program pretty much makes an exact image copy of the DVD for playback at a later time.  I’ve found it great for two things: 1) archiving DVDs (obviously) and 2) as a great companion to Handbrake, which will gladly accept the image for smaller conversions to iPods, MP4s, AVIs, or whatever your video flavor of choice may be.
  3. The Unarchiver
    This little guy is the missing link between the OS X built-in zip file manager and the bloated and messy Stuffit Expander.  It’s been able to handle literally every type of zipped up or compressed file I’ve thrown at it with the exception of the proprietary .sitx files (but who uses those anymore?).  Especially useful if you have a lot of Windows-using friends who have a soft spot for either 7zip or WinRAR, The Unarchiver handles both types of files wonderfully.
  4. Medialink
    This program is the reason I no longer needed a DVR.  It allows for UPnP streaming to my PlayStation 3.  We’re not just talking movies, either, as you can throw photos and music into the mix as well.  It even allows you to copy files from your computer directly to the PS3 hard drive for more surefire playback (great for those large HD files). It also handles pretty much every worthwhile video format you can throw at it, including: MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, H.264, DIVX, XVID, AVI, WMV, and ASF.  Streaming over WiFi works really well and streaming over ethernet is insanely good (matter of preference, really).

That’s my brief, but hopefully helpful list of programs for Mac OS X.  Honorable mentions include Pixelmator, Perian, Writeroom, and xScope.

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