Five Free Mac Apps That’ll Make Your Life Easier

Computers seem to be the backbone of any college student’s life. We use our computers to take notes, communicate with friends and family back home, and even document our college experiences. At Macaulay, our computers go even further, from helping us build our Eportfolios to maintaining communications in our seminar classes. However, without the right software, our computers will not be able to reach their full potential in terms of meeting our needs. As a longtime techie, I’m constantly on the lookout for any software that will make my life easier, and I’ve compiled a list of five free Mac applications that will hopefully help make your life easier too!

1. Perian

Have you ever tried opening a media file on your Mac, only to be told that QuickTime doesn’t support your file? Well, the folks over at The Perian Project have fixed your concerns with their nice little program called Perian. Perian is essentially a QuickTime tweak that adds support for dozens of audio, video, and subtitle file formats. After a quick download, all you need to do is follow the on-screen instructions to install Perian and QuickTime will be able to play nearly any media file (for a full list of supported file types, visit the link to Perian’s website). Besides having to install the program, there’s no additional effort required on your part! As a side note, Perian is no longer in active development by The Perian Project, but the program’s source is available on their website for any of you programmers out there!

2. iProcrastinate
It’s hard to believe that iProcrastinate, with its ironic name, is an app designed to help you manage your tasks and time! I stumbled upon this app on the first day I received my Mac. Since then, I’ve never missed an assignment or turned one in late. The app works by keeping track of the tasks you create within subjects. On the left sidebar, you’ll see a quick overview of how many tasks are coming up, have a deadline due today, or are already overdue (hopefully none!). To create a task, simply click on the “+” sign in the center panel, and you’ll see a screen like the one below:

You’ll be able to set the task’s due date, repetitive deadlines, status, subject, and priority level. Once you’ve created the task, the app will first sort the task by its due date and then follow by assigning it a priority level. You can also visually see your tasks’ due dates by clicking on the “Calendar” button. Another neat feature is the ability to add steps and files to any task, allowing you to view all the details of an assignment in one place; just click on the “+” sign in their respective panels to do so!

Finally, the last feature I want to touch upon is the “Sync” feature. By clicking a button, you’ll be able to sync your groups and tasks from your iProcrastinate app with any other Mac through the Dropbox sync feature or a device (such as an iPhone) with the local device sync feature. To access the sync feature, just click on the “Sync” button on the bottom toolbar. Syncs are especially useful if you own or use multiple Apple devices on a regular basis, since they allow you to keep track of your assignments wherever you may be at the moment.

3. Dropbox

Dropbox is a simple and free service that allows you to sync files between any devices you have – PCs, Macs, smartphones, and tablets. After you sign up for an account and install the software on a Mac, you’ll see a “Dropbox” folder created. Simply drag and/or save any files you wish to sync into the folder, and you’ll be able to access them through the Dropbox website or from any other devices you have with Dropbox installed. Why do you need this? Well, you’ll almost never have to carry a flash drive, and you can even collaborate with friends on assignments! You have the option of sharing folders, so your peers will immediately see any files you update (definitely a feature that is not available when using a flash drive!). You’ll start off with 2 GB of storage, and you’ll have the option of increasing your storage space by referring friends (500 MB per referral) or purchasing additional storage.

4. Skype

Back in the day, it was a given that the greater the distance between two people, the less they’d communicate. Since Skype’s inception in 2003, however, all of that has begun to change. Skype offers free messaging, voice chatting, and video calls between its registered users as well as pay-to-use land line and cell phone calling services. Skype is an immensely popular program, with over 600 million users as of 2011. For college students especially, Skype is useful for keeping that long-distance relationship intact, letting your anxious parents see your faces without going home, or keeping up with friends who are at different colleges. Some useful features include conference calling as well as Facebook integration.

5. CCleaner

Computers seem to do strange things sometimes. You might be browsing the Internet for a few hours (watching videos, shopping, or what have you), and at the end of your session, you’ll find that your hard drive’s free space has mysteriously decreased. Maybe this difference is only a few MB, but you’re still curious as to what the space has been used for. It turns out that your computer will create files for just about anything, from installing new programs to temporarily storing data, or caching data, on your hard drive while browsing the Internet. These are all done in the name of making your computer’s job easier, but it certainly doesn’t make your life easier! This is where CCleaner comes in; it’s a simple program that analyzes your hard drive for any unneeded files and allows you to delete them in a single click. It’s great to run at the end of the day to ensure that your computer isn’t full of unnecessary files. As a side note for you security buffs out there, you’ll also have the option of zeroing your to-be-deleted files and/or your free hard drive space (essentially permanently deleting anything that’s on your hard drive).