[Macworld]

Post your comments for GemFest 2009: All-time favorite affordable software here

[ck4jc]

A couple cheap or free apps I use everyday:
Bean - a free, quick word processor
Free at http://www.bean-osx.com
SteerMouse - adds mouse functionality (including better speed)
$20 USD at http://plentycom.jp/en/steermouse
MP3 Trimmer - splits and combines MP3s easily
$11 at http://deepniner.net/mp3trimmer/

[Jaddie]

DragThing absolutely, positively, unequivocally belongs in this list.

[Kennethfcooper]

Roman,
I really liked this format: a few lines describing the product with a link to more verbose information. It is the format that the main page of Macworld uses, so it is comfortable.
I much prefer it over five short articles on the same page (Macalope style – though it works for him.)

[macFanDave]

I'm surprised Graphic Converter ($35) didn't make it on this list. Even as far as iPhoto editing has come, I still find plenty of times that GC is the right tool for the job.

It is an exceptionally well-maintained piece of software. The developer is always perfecting it and making it even better.

[stephen520]

LaunchBar, LaunchBar, LaunchBar. Wouldn't want to live without it.
But also: 1Password, Hazel, FluidMask (magnificent tool for knocking out image backgrounds), Scrivener (for writers), DiskLabel (for printing directly on CDs), Comic Life (just for fun).
Freebies: Cookie Assassin, Change Desktop, Dropbox, Evernote, Onyx, TinkerTool, Flip4Mac, ClickToFlash

[Berend]

Wonderful interface to use all the power of SpotLight; I use it a lot

HoudahSpot (http://www.houdah.com/houdahSpot/)

A script menu replacement and it runs Applescripts, Automator workflows and Bash, Perl, Ruby ... scripts

FastScripts (http://www.red-sweater.com/fastscripts/)

A simple and effective application launcher and it's free

Namely (http://amarsagoo.info/namely/)

[rloyola]

Kennethfcooper, thanks for the feedback. Always looking for what works, especially when listing multiple reviews on a page.

[ChrisLJ]

I'd give SuperDuper ten mice. And if I was running Apple I would bundle it with every Mac. SD was saving our keisters long before Time Machine.

[Guntis]

Instead of TextExpander I'd suggest to try Typinator. 10 times faster and can handle even 1000+ abbreviations without any problems or slowing down your Mac. Textexpander is good for up to 60-80 abbreviations, then it starts to crawl…

[whitedog]

Jaddie said:

DragThing absolutely, positively, unequivocally belongs in this list.

I agree. It's super.

I also like TypeIt4Me for text expansion - I've been using it since way back in OS 7.x. It still rocks.

And PopChar is invaluable for finding special characters in any font.

Jolt is very useful, enabling me to turn off my screen saver and computer sleep from the menu bar when I'm going to be streaming an Instant Watch movie from Netflix.

Then there's Fruit Menu, providing an old fashioned Apple Menu that I've customized to fit my needs. Though I suppose it may not be as in demand as it once was - so many Mac users now have no memory of the Mac OS before OS X.

[folklore]

A nitpicky thing: 1Passwd has been rebranded as 1Password. I don't recall when the name change happened, but it's been some time ago now.

[wardoggie]

Thanks for another great series! I hope this becomes a Macworld tradition. Not only does it give me a look at software that would normally fly under my radar, but the readers chime in with their own favorites and I discover more cool stuff that way. I'm sure the developers really appreciate the coverage, too.

[Dan Frakes]

folklore said:

A nitpicky thing: 1Passwd has been rebranded as 1Password.

Yep, that was an error; fixed.