Utilities
All the applications up to this point have done *something* for you. But what happens when there is more to be done, or something doesn’t work like it should? That is when these Utilities come in to play. These additional applications make sure that your computer is always capable of doing what you want it to do with ease. All of these applications are optional, but most of them are incredibly useful. Do you have a Utility that has helped you and your Media Center? Let me know!
UnRarX
Main Use: Opening files that end in .rar / .r01 / part01.rar
Have you ever downloaded a file (from BitTorrent or Usenet), only to find that you downloaded a folder filled with small files ending in .r01 .r02 .r03, etc? Congratulations, you just downloaded file that has been RAR’ed. Basically, someone took a big file, and split it into a lot of little files. That way, should something happen to one of those files while it is being sent around, only a small chunk needs to be replaced instead of the whole thing. Some of these files have passwords on them, but you can just click the little password button and enter it and be good to go, should that be the case.
Price: Free! (Donations Accepted)
Website: Link
MacPAR deLuxe
Main Use: Opening files that end in .par / .par2 / .rar / .r01 / part01.rar
MacPAR deLuxe does what UnrarX does, but also handles PAR and PAR2 files which you will encounter if you use Usenet. Most of the time you can use this program before using UnrarX and it will do the job. But every now and again, you will come across some finicky RAR files that it can’t handle.
Price: Free! (Recommended donation of $15/$20/$25)
Website: Link
Dropbox
Main Use: Syncing and sharing files across any number of computers.
Dropbox is a service that allows you to keep a folder on your computer in sync with any other computers that are utilizing the same Dropbox account. The free account comes with 2GB of space which is more than enough for a majority of the users. If you want more space, you can purchase it. It almost has to be seen to believed, but it just works. There are easily a million ways that Dropbox can be used with your Media Center, but we will use it primarily for the ability to drop a file into a folder from one computer and have it show up on another instantaneously.
A great example would be for your BitTorrent application to check your Dropbox folder for any new torrent files. No matter where in the world you are, if you drop a torrent file into your local DropBox folder, it will get synced up and ultimately start downloading on your Media Center computer.
Price: Free! 2GB / Premium from $9.99/mo for 50GB
Website: Link
iStatMenus
Main Use: Monitoring various system processes at a glance from your Menu Bar.
Have you ever been working on your Media Center only to have things slow down or lock up entirely? Have you ever been downloading something very slowly, but aren’t sure exactly why? When you work on your computer and things seemingly happen for no reason, there is a way to find out (to some extent) what the heck is actually going on! iStatMenus is a utility that sits in your menubar and allows you to monitor various aspects of your computer from your internet connection to CPU usage to if the disk drive is being used, and if so, how much.
You can select exactly what processes you want to monitor, and even customize the way it is shown to you. This is incredibly helpful in diagnosing why certain things seem to just happen, and help you make sure they don’t happen in the future. The best feature? It stays out of your way, but can be viewed in just a glance, even from your couch. It certainly isn’t necessary, but I have found it to be something I cannot live without. Give the demo a try and see for yourself.
Price: Free Trial / $16
Website: Link
Name Changer
Main Use: Batch-changing a group of file names with lots of configuration options.
If you have ever downloaded a group of files that use periods or underscores instead of spaces, or where nothing is capitalized, or where they are all named one thing instead of another, you NEED this application. Name Changer allows you to batch-change files that need to be renamed for one reason or another. Instead of having to manually rename a large group of files, just enter in what the current file name is, followed by what you want it changed to and it does it with a click. What would normally take hours of time literally takes minutes and there are numerous ways you can manipulate the names of your files. Get this application today and save your time tomorrow!
Price: Free! (Donations Accepted)
Website: Link
AppCleaner
Main Use: Completely removing an application and any other files it has installed on your computer.
There are a lot of good applications out there, but every now and again, you come across a program that you want to delete almost as quickly as you installed it. On Windows, you had an Application Uninstaller that would remove all traces of a program from a system. On the Mac though, we were never as lucky. AppCleaner fills that void and will allow you to remove not only an application, but also preference files and any other folders/documents that may have been installed around your system. Keeping your system running smoothly means eliminating any extra and useless documents and AppCleaner will do just that for you.
Price: Free! (Donations Accepted)
Website: Link
