Alfred
$free
Alfred is an awesome app launching and file searching app for OS X. Rather than CMD Space like Spotlight Search you click Opt Space and Alfred opens. Alfred will open files and launch apps by the time your spotlight search processes your query. And the top hat is just bonus. They do have a power pack that adds functionality and themes but the basic free version is awesome sauce on its own.
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Google Chrome
$free
Google Chrome is the ultimate web browser that not only syncs your Google account, runs faster than the other browsers, and syncs across devices, but offers a brilliant extension and customization gallery.
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Microsoft Remote Desktop
$free
Microsoft Remote Desktop allows you to access your Windows pcs on your network or remotely. While there are plenty of apps that do this, we feel that MRD runs the most clean.
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Dropbox
$free
Dropbox offers cloud storage with both free and paid accounts. While you may have a different preferred cloud service, there is no fighting the ease at which Dropbox integrates into a system.
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Skype
$free
Skype is a great cross platform communication app allowing messaging, screenshare, voice and video calls. While FaceTime is a fantastic app, Skype will allow you to connect with people who don’t run on Mac.
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Evernote
$free
Evernote is a cloud note app that handles notes very well. While I wish they would better handle lists and that it would be idea to have both lists and notes in the same app, Wanderlist exists so we can use Evernote for everything else. Evernote will sync across devices and though the free version offers limitations - is more than sufficient for basic notes.
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LoremBuilder
$free
Lorembuilder is an app that runs quietly on your toolbar and allows you to simply create filler text (sometimes called Lorem Ipsum). This comes in handy for many reasons but one of the most common use would be if you are building a Presentation for a meeting and you wanted to build the presentation template and layout before you have all the content ready. This will show you what your presentation will look like without having to have the text to fill it in. You can use it in similar fashion for creating flyers, newsletters, and email campaigns.
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Caato Time Tracker
$free (19.99 for pro version)
Caato Time Tracker is a fantastic app but works much better if you purchase the pro version for $19.99. You can track time spent on projects by the project and by the client.
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Caffeine
$free
Caffeine is a coffee jolt for your mac. The app runs in your toolbar and when you click it forces your mac to stay full bright and not power off regardless of power shortage or idle time. Watching a long video and sick of your computer switching to screensaver? This is the app for you.
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Kindle
$free
If your industry is anything like mine, we have to not only constantly learn things that we haven’t yet learned, but also learn new things as they come to be. The kindle app makes purchasing educational reading a much less expensive and easier to access process. Whether industry magazines, manuals, or related reading… your reading will happen easier when you have a library of materials in your computer instead of a bookshelf.
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Pocket
$free
Similar to the scenario with a kindle, pocket will take blog news feeds and store the reading materials for you to read when you have time to do so. I have IFTTT set to store many industry and small business owner news blogs to my pocket. When I have a break between projects, I can just go to one place to find them all.
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