I Bought a Mac - Latest Comments in Ask iBAM: Web Design Mac Apps

Re: Ask iBAM: Web Design Mac Apps

Justin — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 11:44:58 -0000

I figured I'd throw in my two cents as well. I use Smultron and TextExpander and Transmit. I love the simplicity of Smultron and its free! It also opens fast which is important to me, and I love editing files on my server by just selecting the file and hitting command+J. I love to type it all out but text expander saves me sooo much time, its like an auto complete for your whole computer, really check it out its amazing. I've used cyberduck and transmit and I love transmit, its worth the couple bucks. Cyberduck is ok, its free, but buggy I've found. I tried Coda but didn't really like it, still a little too bulky for me.

Smultron
http://smultron.sourceforge.net

TextExpander (be sure to get the HTML snippet file)
http://www.smileonmymac.com/textexpander/

Another neat plugin, it adds syntax coloring to safari's view source. http://www.tildesoft.com/Misc.html

Re: Ask iBAM: Web Design Mac Apps

Brent — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 23:39:31 -0000

I dunno about Coda either. I tried it today and all it did was lock up. I'm so fast with Textmate. Is there a reason for someone who usually just types it all out to switch to one of these apps? Are they really faster?

Re: Ask iBAM: Web Design Mac Apps

Will — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:28:44 -0000

I've been a huge fan of TextMate + CSS Edit, but I guess it all really boils down to your workflow and needs. I use Photoshop + Color Scheemer for design side.

http://www.colorschemer.com/osx_info.php

Coda is indeed a really cool app for most small to midsized development needs, but I don't really fit into the workflow it provides, so I've sort of skipped over what Code has to truly offer.

Re: Ask iBAM: Web Design Mac Apps

Brian — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 00:39:38 -0000

I made the switch in May of 2006. Following is a brief list of what i've found are my fave apps for webdev and such:

I love TextMate for coding (those bundles are sooooo powerful) and SubEthaEdit if you will be doing any sort of real-time paired or group coding.
What Bethany feels for BBEdit i feel for TextMate. Didn't care for BBEdit but i do Ruby on Rails, XHTML, CSS, Python, Release Notes, XML, SQL and AppleScript coding. http://macromates.com and http://codingmonkeys.de

Also get the TextMate book from http://pragprog.com. It helped me really understand TextMate.

I haven't played with Transmit or Cyberduck enough to know what the difference is so i'll punt on the FTP client. Sorry :(

NetNewsWire is a great (and now free!!) RSS reader. http://www.newsgator.com/Individuals/NetNewsWire/

Make sure you install Quicksilver as well. its a quick launch app. It starts when your Mac boots and allows you to start applications by hitting Ctrl+SpaceBar and then typing the first few letters of the name of a program. It also does SOOOOO much more. Merlin Mann has a few great tips of how to do things with it. Very powerful once you learn some of the basics. http://www.blacktree.com

Adium X is a free multi-protocol/service IM client. Kind of like Trillian on Windows. http://www.adiumx.com

If you have to handle .rar files in any way UnRarX is a great(free) .rar tool. http://www.unrarx.com

smcFanControl allows you set the speed of your cooling fans from right in the menubar. It shows your CPUs temps and lets you create presets. Works really well for helping me keep my MacBookPro cool. http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/23049

AppCleaner is a free program "uninstaller." Yes you can "uninstall" an application by dragging its icon in the Application folder to the trash. But lots of apps i've tried leave things behind. I'm anal retentive about everything that was installed being uninstalled. AppZapper does the same thing but is not free. http://www.freemacsoft.net/AppCleaner/

Mail.app has been pretty cool. You can even set it up to work with your Gmail account.

If you need some office apps, look at NeoOffice (free, http://neooffice.org) or Apple's iWork '08 ($79).

Re: Ask iBAM: Web Design Mac Apps

Bethany — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 00:02:14 -0000

I use BBEdit for HTML editing and nothing I've used before beats it. It's packed with so many *useful* features. I feel like I find something new that saves me hours of time every time I open it up.

Re: Ask iBAM: Web Design Mac Apps

James Fleeting — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:33:15 -0000

Thanks for the list guys. I have looked at Coda and might still get it. I bought the MacHeist II Bundle so I have CSSEdit now (although can't use it yet until I get the iMac) so I'm looking forward to trying it. Transmit seems to be the choice for most as far as FTP so its on my list.

Re: Ask iBAM: Web Design Mac Apps

Paul Erickson — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:36:38 -0000

I use a combination of TextMate, Transmit, Photoshop and a nifty little plugin for Safari called Tidy which shows your XHTML validation status in the statusbar on the fly (http://zappatic.net/safaritidy/) -- which saves a little time flip-flopping between browsers. I don't use CSS editors because I don't trust them to do shorthand yet.

Coda is a very nice app, but the text editor is still miles from replacing TextMate for me. Not sure it ever will. If I die, I want my TextMate buried with me.

Re: Ask iBAM: Web Design Mac Apps

Jon-Michael St. Amant — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:22:22 -0000

Brent, you have a pretty good set up with the apps you have listed, however, I would really recommend Coda.

Shawn Blanc has an amazing review of it here.

Additionally, if you don't use Coda's FTP client I would use Cyberduck until Flow makes it debut.

Re: Ask iBAM: Web Design Mac Apps

Michael Mistretta — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:18:08 -0000

I used to use a combination of Textmate + CSSEdit + Transmit with some Photoshop for the graphics. I have recently switched to using Coda and Photoshop exclusively now. Coda does everything I want it to. When I am "working on my site" it is now one task. However, if you want the best text editor, ftp client, and CSS editor, Textmate + CSSEdit + Transmit is the way to go.

Also, I use Final Cut Express and love it. Definitely recommend it. It's cheap and powerful