You Need These Six Apps for Your Mac

Whether you got a new Mac for Christmas, or you just happen to find yourself making the switch over from a Windows PC, setting your new computer up is one of the most important moments you will have with the machine. Sure, there is the obvious start-up procedures, the same out-of-the-box routines that every Mac owner is going to go through, but once you have your machine up and running, these are the six apps you need to install in order to make the most out of your new Mac.

Dropbox

If sharing files, backing data up, or collaborating on projects with others are things you think you will be doing with your Mac, you owe it to yourself, and those you are working with, to install Dropbox on your new computer. This sharing app allows you to place files into an encrypted drop box that can be accessed by signing into the service on any network connected device. A free Dropbox account comes with 2GB of free data.

A Twitter Client

Twitter is still one of the most must have apps, especially for those looking to stay in the know with friends, and keep tabs on news stories and events happening everywhere in the world. While Tweetbot is one of the most popular Twitter clients for Macs, there are plenty of other options out there to help you better navigate the social media seas and maintain your account.

1Password

If you are using one password for all your accounts, you need to stop it. And, if you are going to try and remember all your different passwords off the top of your head, good luck. In today’s technology-filled world it is becoming necessary to have a password manager, and 1Password is one of the best available for Macs. This app acts as a secure vault in which you can store all of your different passwords, credit card and even passport information so that it can be recalled at a moments notice, but are also safe and secure.

Bartender

No, this is not a mixology app – though one of those couldn’t hurt, either. Bartender is the perfect app for organizing all of your tiny desktop icons on your Mac, and can be especially helpful if you have something like an 11-inch MacBook Air. This app allows you to hide some of your lesser used icons and arranges your desktop in a way that best suits the flow of how you work.

Skitch

While your Mac will come with some apps that can be used for markups, such as Preview and Mail, there may be some times when your need to protect some personal information or data in PDFs for images goes beyond what these basic apps are able to do. This is where Skitch comes in handy. This app allows users to quickly, and easily blur out information, add text, draw shapes and manipulate documents.

TextWrangler

Writing and editing in rich text is easy on the Mac thanks to native programs such as TextEdit and iWork’s Pages. However, if you find yourself in need of editing a plain text document, or code, you will need a bare bones software, such as TextWrangler, which will make your life a heck of a lot easier. While this is ideal for editing plain text or code, it is also a bare bones program, which means more advanced/pro users may wish to go for something like BBEdit, instead, as it has many more advanced features which allows you to get more in-depth to edit and code.