Marc Charbonneau

I’ve always enjoyed reading about other people’s setups, especially when I discover some small utility or tool that I didn’t know existed. After a fresh install of Mavericks a few months ago, I figured this is a good time to write up my own list.

Development

AppViz - App Store sales reports. I recently started using version 3, which syncs to a backend service for data collection. There are a few web-only competitors I’ve tried over the past few years, but AppViz is just nicer.

Dash - Xcode documentation viewer. I’ve only used this for a few weeks, but I’ve been impressed. I’ve used similar tools before and always ended up back in Xcode, but it looks like Dash is going to stick around.

Deploymate - Ensures your iOS or OSX project is compatible with older operating systems. I’ve used this to find a couple crashing bugs in Showyou. Like many development tools, this one pays for itself after the first use.

Gitbox - Still my favorite visual git client. I haven’t seen many updates for it this year, but it still works well.

Kaleidoscope 2 - The nicest file comparison app you’ll find, and it integrates perfectly with Gitbox. I use the two on a daily basis.

TextMate 2 - I’ve heard TextMate isn’t the cool kid’s editor anymore, but I’m still using it. I probably wouldn’t have even switched from 1.5 to 2.0 if it wasn’t for better compatibility with Mavericks.

Tokens - A very nice app that handles sending out App Store promo codes. I don’t use it often, but I’m glad I have it every time I do.

xScope - Still a must-have utility for doing UI work.

 General

Dropbox - Dropbox is still a must-have for me. A year or two ago I moved everything from ~/Documents into it. Makes doing a clean OS install much easier.

1Password - I started using 1Password during the version 4 betas, switching over from Wallet.app (which is no long being developed). Using separate, randomly generated passwords is critical considering how often I see website security breaches in the news. 1Password works much better than Wallet, and better still than Apple’s new iCloud Keychain.

Things - Still my favorite task management app. Though there are lots of iPhone competitors I’d like to try, having a desktop app is critical for me.

Aperture - I don’t dislike Aperture, but whenever I use it I feel like there should be something better. If so, I haven’t found it yet.

Cloud - Screenshot and file sharing. Unfortunately it’s a bit buggy on Mavericks, and I’ll probably end up switching to Dropbox for sharing at some point.

Ember - This is where I’ve been putting random images and screenshots. Everything that doesn’t go in Aperture, goes here. Though I gave up on its predecessor (Little Snapper) last year, Ember won me over again.

Melo - It’s a simple app that connects iTunes to Last.fm. Last.fm’s recommendation engine is still my go-to place to find new music.

Simplenote - The new Simplenote app is not quite as nice as Notational Velocity, but I’m giving it time to grow on me.

Tweetbot - The best Twitter client for OSX.

Soulver - A scratchpad for calculations. More useful than a simple calculator, easier to use than a spreadsheet.

VLC - Still the best general purpose, do-it-all video player.