FreeSMUG, the Free OpenSource Software Mac User Group, recently released an update to an incredible package of free open source applications for OS X. At nearly 700 MB, FreeSMUG is an excellent set of all types of applications for Mac users who do not want to pay $1000s for the commercial alternatives, or do not want to have to spend their precious time finding all these great applications. The applications and installers are conveniently packaged in one large disk image, available by direct download or BitTorrent.
The package includes Office/Editing, Graphic, Audio, Video, Net/www, Dev/Utils, and Games Applications.
FreeSMUG also publishes other Open Source applications, and is definitely worth a few minutes of your time.

Technorati Tags: Apple, Free Software, FreeSMUG, FSuite, Open Source, OS X

Here is another great Mac-compatible tip from Micahville, entitled “How To: Install Your Own Ajax File Manager“. As is evident from its title, the tutorial discusses installing an Ajax File Manager on your own. Although the tip is not designed for Macs, everything in the tutorial can be applied to OS X, since it teaches how to install a web-based application.

[Via Micahville]

Technorati Tags: Ajax, Ajax File Manager, eXtplorer, File Manager, FTP, Micahville

To easily raise and lower the volume with the keyboard while watching a video in Quicktime, just press the up and down arrow keys, respectively.

Technorati Tags: keyboard shortcuts, Quicktime, Quicktime Player, Volume

Are you unable to follow the thirty different tones and beeps your different applications use to remind you that the application has completed some task? Do you find the dozen different versions of iTunes song update displays overwhelming? I am sure you have been completely befuddled as to what that “Basso” noise meant at one point or another, when four of your running applications use it. This is where the incredible application known as Growl comes in. Growl displays customizable but consistent notifications to let you know whenever an application completes some process or wants to tell you something. Growl integrates with many of Apple’s greatest applications, such as Adium, iTunes, Safari, Transmission, and Mail, and with many of OS X’s own processes.
It is hard to explain how incredible Growl really is, so you really must try it. Make sure to install all the extras included in the Disk Image, and check out the included scripts as well.
With the recent 1.1 release, it is easier to remove single notifications from the screen, and the notification positioning system is far better.
More design styles for Growl can also be found here.

Technorati Tags: Apple, Growl, iTunes, Notification, OS X

Kainjow’s DropJPG is a great image conversion application that acts exactly as you expect it to act, and makes everything as easy as possible.

Placing this mini-application in your dock allows you to drag an image in almost any format and have it converted to a JPG image file. DropJPG allows you to set the image output quality, and to change the background color for images with transparency. Additionally, you can set DropJPG to delete the original file after conversion and/or to automatically quit when done.

Technorati Tags: Convert, DropJPG, OS X, Photo, Kainjow, JPG, Convert Image

KeyXL is an incredible resource that indexes keyboard shortcuts for dozens of applications on the major operating systems, including OS X of course.

[Via Lifehacker]

Technorati Tags: keyboard shortcuts, KeyXL, OS X

Gimp, the GNU Image Manipulation Program, is a great open-source cross-platform application for image editing.
Photoshop CS3 is “slightly” more expensive at $649, and is another popular image editing application

ThemBid.com has great tutorials on how to use either of these great applications to remove backgrounds from pictures quickly.
Here is the Gimp Tutorial: Removing Backgrounds Quickly in the Gimp
And the Photoshop Tutorial: Removing Backgrounds Quickly in Photoshop

[Via Lifehacker]

Technorati Tags: Gimp, Gimp Tutorial, Lifehacker, Photoshop, Photoshop Tutorial, Remove Backgrounds, ThemBid.com

A great tool on both PCs and Macs is file sharing. I really like being able to allow others on my network to directly access my Public folders; it is much more efficient than CD or DVD burning or flash drives. I was surprised to find out that Apple even lets you network with Windows users, and Microsoft allows Macs to access its computers.

To do this, simply enter “System Preferences” and select the “Sharing” pane, located under “Internet & Network”. To share with other Macs, select “Personal File Sharing” under “Services” and click “Start”. To enable sharing with Windows computers, do the same thing, but for “Windows Sharing” instead of “Personal File Sharing”. Sharing with Windows computers may also ask you for your computers password.

Technorati Tags: Windows File Sharing, Apple, Windows, Network, OS X, File Sharing

While sitting at my computer going crazy with my desire to actually own an iPhone, I stumbled upon some cool iPhone tips on Apple’s web site titled “Finger Tips.”
Check them out here: Apple - iPhone - Finger Tips

The tips are:
1. Silence the ring.
2. Delete a message.
3. Create your favorites.
4. Assign a ringtone.
5. More Song controls.
6. Browse in Cover Flow.
7. Magnify to edit text.
8. Mail Preferences.
9. Set a passcode.
10. Reset your iPhone

Technorati Tags: Apple, Cover Flow, Delete iPhone Message, Finger Tips, iPhone, iPhone Cover Flow, iPhone Magnify, iPhone Mail Preferences, iPhone Passcode, iPhone Reset, iPhone Ringtones, Ringtone, Silence iPhone Ringtone

The weather widget included in OS X Tiger in the Dashboard is more fun than one might think at first. One Easter Egg is getting special weather for “Nowhere”. By holding down Option (Alt)-Command and clicking on the widget, the weather forecast will change for a place known as “Nowhere”. Repeated clicks produce different weather graphics.

Another cool trick is to slowly unroll and roll up the 6-day weather forecast available by simply clicking on the widget. If you hold down Shift while doing this, the animation will be played slowly, making it look like it is actually being unrolled or rolled up, instead of just popping up.
A third trick is a small hyperlink located immediately to the left of the city name. Clicking it will send your default browser to a more detailed AccuWeather Forecast. Sadly, this does not work with the “Nowhere” location…

Technorati Tags: Nowhere, Save Hard Drive Space, AccuWeather, Forecast, OS X, Weather, Widget, Dashboard