Learning OS X

Regular readers of this blog might swear I work for the folk at 1Password. Honestly, I don’t! It is just one of my favorite OS X applications.

I’m also gradually loving Google Chrome. It’s fast compared to Firefox and is developing a rich ecosystem around plugins. The only thing keeping it from becoming my primary browser was the lack of support for 1Password.

All this changed about  today when I discovered that Agile Web Solutions created a 1Password Chrome extension. I don’t believe it was very well publicized so I’m hoping this post remedies it.

It’s a little rough around the edges but you can download the 1Password Chrome Plugin here.

Have fun!

I’ve mentioned my favorite password manager 1Password on Learning OS X a few times before. It’s a great tool to help you keep your online identity secure. The downside to using a password manager is all of your passwords are kept in one place. Well, with the help of another great application Dropbox, that is no longer an issue.

Dropbox is a tool that allows you to easily create shared folders across computers and across the internet. The service comes in free and paid varieties. I use it to keep my office and home Macs in sync. With it, I never have to worry about leaving files in the office, it’s always available for me wherever I go.

You might be able to see where I’m going with this. Dropbox will synchronize files between multiple computers. If I store my 1Password keychain there, it will sync between each of my computers. Follow the directions below and you too will be syncing your keychain between multiple computers in no time.

Install Dropbox

It’s quick and easy, go to the Dropbox website, create an account, install the client and you’re off and running

Move your 1 Password Keychain to your Dropbox

Make sure your 1Password keychain is setup as an agile keychain. Start 1Password, click the 1Password > Preferences menu to open the Preferences window. Click the Keychain tab and click the Switch to Agile Keychain Format button, shown here:

Then, move your keychain by clicking 1Password->Preferences->General and selecting the Move button. Browse to a folder inside your Dropbox directory and select “Move to Selected Folder.”

That’s pretty much it. When you click the Move button, Dropbox in the background will move the file out to the Internet. After a few seconds, the file should appear on your second Mac in its Dropbox. Click it and it will open inside 1Password. This will then tell 1Password to start using this file for the keychain.

Pretty simple way to connect two great tools. If you have any other creative uses for Dropbox, please tell us.

LaunchBar is a kick ass OS X application. How’s that for a lead-in?

So now that I have your attention, I have to tell you about my new favorite OS X application. LaunchBar is a swiss army knife application launcher. If you have used Quicksilver to quickly launch applications on your Mac, you should know that the original author of Quicksilver now recommends LaunchBar.

LaunchBar gives you instant access to files, applications, bookmarks, address book entries, basically anything you might need quick access to throughout your day, all without lifting your hands from the keyboard.

Rather than spend time reinventing the wheel. This post shows some tutorials from the a German blogger which should give you some sense of the power of LaunchBar.

This first video gives you an overview of LaunchBar, compares it to Quicksilver and explores some of it’s main features.

For the rest of the series, check out his blog.

Updated Jan 2010 – This used to be a list of my 10 favorite apps, I find I’m using a lot more each day to make my life easier.

After you have time to play around with the applications built into the Mac, you might be wondering what else is out there. Here is my list of essential applications that I use everyday to make my Macbook more productive.

• Adium – great cross platform messaging client. I prefer it to iChat because it cleanly manages all my accounts
• Cyberduck – FTP application. If you manage a website you are going to want this program
• Things – an awesome task list application. It’s great if you follow the GTD methodology. I’ve tried dozens of todo list applications and this one is the best
• Anki – Flash card program that uses spaced repetition to help you remember your facts
• Screenflick – inexpensive screencasting software. I use it to create the videos for this site
• Seesmic – very cleanly designed Flickr desktop client. There are many of these programs, I liked the interface for this one
• TweetDeck – I’ve dumped Seesmic for Tweet Deck, I like the layout and the support for multiple accounts
• Transmission – Bittorrent client, download content from the Internet, fast.
• VLC – if you download a video using Transmission and you need to play it, this application plays everything
• 1Password – great password manager, integrates with Firefox and Safari to keep all your passwords in a encrypted safe
• Quicksilver – great companion to Spotlight. Use Quicksilver to launch applications and run scripts without lifting your hands from the keyboard
• LaunchBar – took over the duties of Quicksilver. Quicksilver, you were fun but sadly, you’re not well supported anymore. LaunchBar was endorsed by the original creator of Quicksilver and it rocks. Allows you to drive your Mac without using the mouse. Get, Love it.
• VMWare Fusion – As much as I love OSX, I still occasionally need to run Windows applications. VMWare Fusion is the way to do it.
• Unison – This is a great program for downloading binaries from USENET news groups. It’s really cool because it supports NZB files. If you don’t know what any of this means, check out newzbin.com.
• Mac Office – the king of all office suites. I use it everyday and well, it’s really the best player out there.

If you have any favorite Mac applications that you can’t live without, tell us about them.

You might read this and think that this site has become a marketing arm for 1Password. No, it’s not but yes, I love this application that much. It integrates so well with OS X and I use it every day to keep track of all of my passwords, frequent flyer clubs, etc.

I was browsing through the iTunes store last night when I discovered that the 1Password folks are giving away the Pro version of 1Password for the iPhone (iTunes Link). This is a temporary offer good only until December first so, if you have an iPhone and want to keep your passwords sync’d between devices download this application today.