Fresh Mac Installs – 2012

Whenever I get a new Mac I set it up from scratch. Using Migration Assistant would be easier, but I prefer the process of deciding what goes on the new machine and what doesn't. Each time I also try to only install the very basics. Over time I tend to accumulate a lot of crud and starting fresh is a great way to evaluate what I truly need.

      <p>
        The last time I went through this was late 2010, so this should be fun. I've divided things into two lists. The first is Apps and the second is Utilities. The distinction is loose, but makes sense to me. The lists are in alphabetical order.
      </p>
      
      <p>
        <strong>Applications</strong>
      </p>
      
      <ul>
        <li>
          <strong>1Password</strong> &#8211; so I can use different passwords everywhere
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>Acorn</strong> &#8211; happy image editing
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>Balsamiq Mockups</strong> &#8211; Terrific for UI mockups
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>BBEdit</strong> &#8211; Text editing and writing
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>Clarify</strong> &#8211; Screenshots and documentation
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>DEVONthink</strong> &#8211; My reference library and file system
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>Droplr</strong> &#8211; Quick file sharing
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>HipChat</strong> &#8211; Office chat
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>iTerm2</strong> &#8211; Huge improvement over Terminal.app
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>Marked</strong> &#8211; Must have for Markdown users
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>Microsoft Office</strong> &#8211; (dammit)
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>MPlayerX</strong> &#8211; Plays videos that Quicktime won't
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>NetNewsWire</strong> &#8211; Still my favorite RSS reader
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>Omnifocus</strong> &#8211; GTD
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>Soulver</strong> &#8211; Best calculator-type thing ever
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>SourceTree</strong> &#8211; For I am a lazy Git user
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>Sequel Pro</strong> &#8211; database admin when I need it
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>TheBrain</strong> &#8211; I keep my brain in it
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>Tinderbox</strong> &#8211; I use this for everything
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>Transmit</strong> &#8211; Mostly an S3 browser now
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>Twitterrific</strong> &#8211; Oldest and still my favorite Twitter client
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>XCode</strong> &#8211; Just in case
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>Yojimbo</strong> &#8211; Everything bucket (instead of evernote)
        </li>
      </ul>
      
      <p>
        <strong>Utilities</strong>
      </p>
      
      <ul>
        <li>
          <strong>Adobe Air</strong> &#8211; (dammit, but need it for HipChat)
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>Alfred</strong> &#8211; So I can launch and find stuff
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>Dropbox</strong> &#8211; duh
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>Git</strong> &#8211; For when I decide to make or borrow code
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>Growl</strong> &#8211; Until Notification Center is everywhere
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>Hazel</strong> &#8211; Takes care of files for me
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>Homebrew</strong> &#8211; For installing geeky things when necessary
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>Keyboard Maestro</strong> &#8211; Too magical not to install
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>oh-my-zsh</strong> &#8211; hell of a shell package
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>SuperDuper!</strong> &#8211; Has repeatedly save my ass from bad drives
        </li>
        <li>
          <strong>Typinator</strong> &#8211; I've found it to be much faster than TextExpander
        </li>
      </ul>
      
      <p>
        I'm sure I'll find that I need others, but this is the core list for the time being.
      </p>
    </div>
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