Silver white winters that melt into springs…

♪♪ …these are a few of my favorite things ♪♪

I’m a nut when it comes to tools and productivity. But lo! choose wisely, lest we become the tools of our tools.

Here is an abridged, alphabetical list of my favorites:

• 1Password ($) - Quit using the same password for every service and never type a username into a browser again. I was skeptical at first but this program delivered. Bonus points for the awesome browser extensions and Dropbox integration.
• Airfoil ($) - Play audio across any number of devices or machines, in sync. The company essentially reverse-engineered Airplay to make it work everywhere.
• Alfred ($/free) - The lovechild between Quicksilver and the command line, this app is best way to perform tasks and launch applications on a Mac. Totally scriptable, totally awesome.
• Audio Hijack Pro ($) - Record system audio and boost output from tiny speakers.
• Better Touch Tool (free) - Keyboard and magic mouse shortcuts. Replaced Alt+tab for me when switching between applications.
• Calibre (free) - eBook manager and must-have application for the Kindle. I also use it to manage the PDFs I’m currently reading.
• Dropbox ($/free) - I hesitated to put this on the list because it seems so obvious. I keep everything in Dropbox – my home folder, emacs configurations, projects, taxes, and backups.
• Emacs (free) - My operating system of choice. If you’re on a Mac, get this version.
• Flux (free) - A perfect companion for night-owl coders, this app makes the color of your computer’s display adapt to the time of day (warm at night and like sunlight during the day).
• Hazel ($) - Folder actions on steroids.
• iTerm2 (free) - A better Terminal for the Mac.
• NetNewsWire (free) - My RSS reader of choice. Tight integration with Google Reader and Instapaper.
• RememberTheMilk ($/free) - My task manager du jour, particularly because it runs everywhere (browser, phone, emacs, email, alfred). I’m trying to make the switch to Asana, and have already moved my work projects, but still use RTM for everyday tasks.
• SABnzbd (free) - If you’re on usenet you need this app. Lots of features and a built-in web interface.
• Spotify ($/free) - Everything Napster should have been. I wish you could upload music like Lala, but in combination with a home music server (see the next entry) it means you’ll have tunes wherever you are. Be sure to get the Developer build for API integration.
• Subsonic ($/free) - For the unwieldy music collection, this app streams your audio and video to any browser or phone. Setup is a snap and the API is nice.
• Telephone ($) - If you’ve got Google Voice, this app will notify you (on the computer) when your phone is ringing. You can also answer the call and start talking. This app used to be free but I only see a paid version in the App Store.
• TotalFinder ($) - Tabs, copy/paste, and more for the Finder. Sounds trivial but I wonder how I lived without it.
• TotalTerminal (free) - Quake-style drop down terminal window. Hawt.
• uTorrent (free) - A lightweight, no-nonsense BitTorrent client. The built-in web interface is a nice touch.
• VLC (free) - Still the best media player out there. Probably has a codec for 8-track and betamax.
• XQuartz (free) - A better version of the X window system, with keyboard shortcuts that don’t get in my way.