Top 10 FREE Mac software downloads

There is a ton of Mac software out there. And plenty of it is actually free. Here we have compiled our top 10 essential list of FREE Mac software downloads. Enjoy...

Adium

Adium is a surprisingly versatile instant messaging client with infinite number of customization options and support for virtually every popular messaging protocol. This is surely to be the last instant messaging client you will ever want.
[Visit official Adium web site]

MenuMeters

MenuMeters is an essential hardware monitoring tool that installs into the top menu bar and provides essential system utilization information. It is simple yet versatile enough to please most users out there. One thing we wish MenuMeters had was the ability to display the amount of hard drive space remaining and in use. However, for advanced users, there is a more comprehensive and full featured alternative available called iStat Menus which can be purchased for $16 US dollars and in case you are wondering - is totally worth it.
[Visit official MenuMeters web site]

Growl

Growl is the ultimate on-screen notification utility for the Mac that integrates nicely with a lot of Mac applications out there. The slew of customization options and the supported software means it can be tailored to just about any user and their preferences.
[Visit official Growl web site]

VLC

VLC is a versatile and full-featured cross-platform media player that can tackle most popular audio and video formats on the market today. It has an absurd amount of customization options which makes my head spin but is sure to please advanced users.
[Visit official VLC web site]

Burn

Burn is a simple yet advanced burning utility for the Mac. It supports a wide range of video and audio files and exposes advanced options and settings.
[Visit official Burn web site]

The Unarchiver

The Unarchiver is a better and more versatile replacement to the built-in unpacker that ships with Mac OS X. It supports more file formats and integrates nicely with the Finder. The Unarchiver also works with foreign character sets and can unpack files created with other operating systems. Its major strength are versatility and the easy of use.
[Visit official Unarchiver web site]

Adapter

Adapter is a freeware video converter for both Mac & PC. It even lets you convert audio and image files. With Adapter it is quick and easy to convert between different file formats.
[Visit official Adapter web site]

Gimp

Gimp is a powerful open-source GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is great for photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. It may not be as feature-full as something like Photoshop but should be enough for most day to day photo-chops.
[Visit official Gimp for Mac web site]

Azureus aka Vuze

Azureus aka Vuze is an advanced full-featured bittorrent file transfer client and server. Azureus exposes a mountain of advanced options and makes them available to the user for customization. It is also easily extended and enhanced via numerous available plugins.
[Visit official Azureus/Vuze web site]

Cyberduck advanced cross-platform file transfer client

With Cyberduck you can connect to any server with ease thanks to its easy to use user interface and support for a variety of servers. Cyberduck supports FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, Amazon S3, Google Storage, Windows Azure, Rackspace Cloud Files, and Google Docs.
[Visit official Cyberduck web site]

QR codes - a quick way to swap bits of information

QR code for URL totalFlux.blogspot.com encoded with RedLaser iPhone app

There are many different ways one can transfer information these days. QR code is yet another way to do just that. What it is essentially is a 2D bar code that anyone with a capable mobile device and the right application can generate as well as scan. QR codes are not exactly a new phenomena since they have been used in the automotive industry to label parts for many years. However, in recent years with the advent of the smart phone QR codes started to trickle into the consumer markets. There are many QR applications available on the iPhone as well as other smart phones. For example I used a free application called RedLaser to generate the QR code at the top of this page on an iPhone. With RedLaser it is a breeze to encode contact information, a URL, or any other snippet of text. If you already own a smart phone today grab one of the numerous QR applications available for your device and see for yourself how easy it is to create your own two-dimensional bar code.

To learn more about QR codes please visit Wikipedia

Apple updates MacBook Air and Mac Mini and rolls out the all new OS X Lion

Today Apple updated MacBook Air and Mac Mini with the latest greatest 2nd generation Intel Core i5 and i7 processors that are twice as fast as the previous offerings. The recently introduced Thunderbolt port is now a standard offering too. The new MacBook Air now also sports a very much needed backlit keyboard. Noteworthy updates to the Mac Mini lineup include a twist off base for easy memory upgrades and an integrated power supply - so long the chunky paper weight power supply brick. A new Mac Mini Server is also available with Lion Server edition. All new Macs now ship with the brand spanking new OS X Lion, which introduces over 250+ new features. You can download OS X Lion upgrade from the App Store today for a nominal fee of just $29.99.

All-in-all Apple is on a roll and there is seemingly no stopping them now! Next up iPhone 5 and iPad 3...

Test your internet connection speed for free with SPEEDTEST.NET

SPEEDTEST.NET - begin test

Ever wonder just how fast your internet connection really is? Surely there are many services that can test this for you but for some reason I keep coming back to SPEEDTEST.NET which also happens to be FREE. Perhaps its the intuitive and simple user interface or the fact that it just works every time. But what I think sets SPEEDTEST apart from other similar services is that it lets you pick a destination server pretty much anywhere around the world to test against and also provides an iPhone companion application that enables connection testing on the iPhone via a native iPhone app.

SPEEDTEST.NET - test results

Apple comes out with the new Mac App Store

Mac App Store

With Mac OSX 10.6.6 Update Apple introduced the all new Mac App Store which enables users to buy and upgrade applications for their Macs right from their Macs. Apple installs the new Mac App Store directly into the Dock. According to Apple over 1,000 apps are available in the store right now and Apple is calling out to all developers

to create more new innovative apps and has provided developer tools in the form of the Mac Developer Program.

Google Chrome Web Store is now live

Google Chrome Web Store

While I was sleeping it looks like Google snuck in their own online app store for their already popular Google Chrome browser. Similar to Firefox, Chrome users can now tweak out and customize their favorite browser to get the most out of it. With weather updates, online radio and all your social networks integrated right into the browser you can now have all your resources literally at your finger tips.

Check out Google Chrome Web Store