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GadgetComa · 06-27-2009

Through great fortune (which hasn't been coming my way much lately), I won a new 13" MacBook Pro in a local contest. I love this thing! I've got my usual "must have" software installed (e.g., Quicksilver, iStat Menus, PathFinder, etc.). While these are great tools, none of them are specifically laptop problem solvers.

I was hoping all of you laptop users out there could make some suggestions about tools that you would recommend for mobile use.

Thanks!

- Leon

P.S. It's double GadgetComa days right now. The same day I got the laptop, I also received the Solmeta GPS for my Nikon. So many toys, so little time.

Ginamos · 06-28-2009

Not sure I can think of too many laptop specific apps I use, off the top of my head I'd suggest

Caffeine - a simple app that prevents the screen dimming or the screen saver automatically switching on. Useful when demonstrating things on the screen, and you don't want the distraction of the power save options kicking in.

lucamacis · 06-28-2009

Congrats on the win! I use InsomniaX which prevents your mac from going to sleep when you close the lid. Very useful if you want to move from a to b by closing the lid but not stopping your processes. Otherwise there is not really all that much...

Google gears for firefox for reading gmail/google reader feeds whilst offline. Last thing would be coconut battery. It's not really something you need now but its a nice way of keeping an eye out on your battery health. Again you probably wont need that for years to come... :-) Lucky sod!

GadgetComa · 06-28-2009

I think I need the caffeine, not the computer. I've been staying up too late playing with it.

Thanks for the suggestions. The tools to keep the Mac from dimming/sleeping would come in handy at times. I figured I would need a battery health monitor at some point. In fact, I could use it to make sure I calibrated the battery correctly the first time. Since I'm traveling a lot, I thought I would look for a wifi hotspot locater like AirRadar.

BTW. I think DropBox is one of the best tools for a mobile user. I sync a fair amount of stuff that way now.

- Leon

JeremyK · 07-28-2009

Hmm... A must have app... I would say sims 3 but were talking about os x and that dashboard thing. Never use it for two very good reasons:
- my computers fixed now so I don't constantly need to check istat
-not sure if it does this any more, but it either doesn't open or it opens and closes everything else!!

lucamacis · 07-30-2009

I would vouch for DropBox too. I have mobileme and yet i still prefer to use dropbox as it works better with timemachine. Stickies on dashboard is good too. I have 4 up at the moment. Great for quick reminders/notes/ ip addresses bla bla.

sawmaster · 07-31-2009

Coda by panic.com is my favorite. I'd die without it.

GadgetComa · 08-01-2009

I'm not bold enough to code HTML by hand, so Coda is not for me. I do have other Panic software. I really like their designs.

pscapill · 08-03-2009

I like Bowtie for iTunes and SelfControl for those days I cannot focus.

JeremyK · 08-04-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by GadgetComa

I think I need the caffeine, not the computer.

If you dont want it I'll happily take it =)

06-27-2009	#1 (permalink)
GadgetComa Personal Shopping Specialist Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Maryland Posts: 266	Through great fortune (which hasn't been coming my way much lately), I won a new 13" MacBook Pro in a local contest. I love this thing! I've got my usual "must have" software installed (e.g., Quicksilver, iStat Menus, PathFinder, etc.). While these are great tools, none of them are specifically laptop problem solvers. I was hoping all of you laptop users out there could make some suggestions about tools that you would recommend for mobile use. Thanks! - Leon P.S. It's double GadgetComa days right now. The same day I got the laptop, I also received the Solmeta GPS for my Nikon. So many toys, so little time. __________________ Gadget Coma - The state of delirium that gadget geeks fall into after acquiring their latest techie gizmo-toy.

06-28-2009	#3 (permalink)
lucamacis Business Consultant Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Essex Posts: 124	Congrats on the win! I use InsomniaX which prevents your mac from going to sleep when you close the lid. Very useful if you want to move from a to b by closing the lid but not stopping your processes. Otherwise there is not really all that much... Google gears for firefox for reading gmail/google reader feeds whilst offline. Last thing would be coconut battery. It's not really something you need now but its a nice way of keeping an eye out on your battery health. Again you probably wont need that for years to come... :-) Lucky sod! __________________ Black Macbook 2.2ghz \| Mac Mini 1.83ghz \| 16gb iPhone 3G Visit my Blog

06-28-2009	#4 (permalink)
GadgetComa Personal Shopping Specialist Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Maryland Posts: 266	I think I need the caffeine, not the computer. I've been staying up too late playing with it. Thanks for the suggestions. The tools to keep the Mac from dimming/sleeping would come in handy at times. I figured I would need a battery health monitor at some point. In fact, I could use it to make sure I calibrated the battery correctly the first time. Since I'm traveling a lot, I thought I would look for a wifi hotspot locater like AirRadar. BTW. I think DropBox is one of the best tools for a mobile user. I sync a fair amount of stuff that way now. - Leon __________________ Gadget Coma - The state of delirium that gadget geeks fall into after acquiring their latest techie gizmo-toy.

07-28-2009	#5 (permalink)
JeremyK Personal Shopping Specialist Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 217	Hmm... A must have app... I would say sims 3 but were talking about os x and that dashboard thing. Never use it for two very good reasons: - my computers fixed now so I don't constantly need to check istat -not sure if it does this any more, but it either doesn't open or it opens and closes everything else!! __________________ Once you go mac, you never go back! My macs: Aluminum MacBook, iPhone 3G 16GB, iPod Nano (5th Gen. Aluminum).

07-30-2009	#6 (permalink)
lucamacis Business Consultant Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Essex Posts: 124	I would vouch for DropBox too. I have mobileme and yet i still prefer to use dropbox as it works better with timemachine. Stickies on dashboard is good too. I have 4 up at the moment. Great for quick reminders/notes/ ip addresses bla bla. __________________ Black Macbook 2.2ghz \| Mac Mini 1.83ghz \| 16gb iPhone 3G Visit my Blog

06-28-2009	#2 (permalink)
Ginamos Personal Shopping Specialist Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 297	Not sure I can think of too many laptop specific apps I use, off the top of my head I'd suggest Caffeine - a simple app that prevents the screen dimming or the screen saver automatically switching on. Useful when demonstrating things on the screen, and you don't want the distraction of the power save options kicking in.

07-31-2009	#7 (permalink)
sawmaster Operator Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 1	Coda by panic.com is my favorite. I'd die without it.

08-01-2009	#8 (permalink)
GadgetComa Personal Shopping Specialist Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Maryland Posts: 266	I'm not bold enough to code HTML by hand, so Coda is not for me. I do have other Panic software. I really like their designs. __________________ Gadget Coma - The state of delirium that gadget geeks fall into after acquiring their latest techie gizmo-toy.

08-03-2009	#9 (permalink)
pscapill Cashier Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 48	I like Bowtie for iTunes and SelfControl for those days I cannot focus.

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