Audacity

Audacity is a free open-source audio recorder and editor, available for both Mac and PC users. It is a handy and useful application and so far it has worked seamlessly.

You can record live audio, convert tapes and records into digital recordings/CDs, edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, WAV or AIFF sound files, cut, copy, splice or mix sound files, change the speed or pitch of a recording etc.

Screenshots can be found at this link – http://audacity.sourceforge.net/about/screenshots

Website: http://audacity.sourceforge.net
Cost: Free
Requires: You can use a Mac, PC or GNU/Linux system, they have different versions available for different operating system versions.

iShowU is a very cool capturing application (realtime screencasting), that captures online/offline media that can be imported directly into Pro Apps such as Final Cut (you can even choose pro level settings). The image quality of the captures is quite amazing. Ironically, the demos on their website are not that impressive which is a pity, but the software can produce very high quality captures. The price is also very reasonable compared to other, less feature-filled apps, at just under $60 US. You can use this product to enhance video projects, you can use it for software demos, you can create support videos to E-mail to customers addressing their technical problems..etc. When I first installed it, it didn’t work properly but once I closed it, restarted it and put in my registration number a second time, it worked perfectly.

Some other features include:
- Recording from iSight and DV cameras
- Upload to YouTube/Blip.TV
- Realtime scaling for captures
- Key recording and Mouse actions
- Real time preview
- Watermark editing
- Low CPU usage

Website: http://www.shinywhitebox.com/ishowuhd/main.html
Cost: $59.95USD
Requires: Leopard 10.5

iCal Events
This product is a widget you can put on your dashboard, it draws calendar events out of your Apple calendar and gives you a summary of up to two weeks in advance. The events are color coded to define which calendar events are out of. It is a great reminder, it has saved me on a few occasions already!

Website: http://www.benkazez.com/icalevents.php
Cost: Free
Requires: Mac OS X 10.4 or later

I came across MacJournal as a means to keep my notes organized. I often find myself at events, talks, seminars etc and need an organized place to keep track of my notes and ideas. MacJournal is almost like a personal log from StarTrek (I’m out of the closet ), you can keep a daily journal, written or video, as well as notes.

What I like is that your notes are dated so it is easy to go back and find specific entries. The MacJournal also has cool features like export to blog, Picasa integration, password protection and encryption options. It is a great tool for the creative professional as it allows you to collect your thoughts and ideas in one place, it also doesn’t limit you to just using words to express yourself. It is also priced well at $34.95US

Website: http://www.marinersoftware.com/
Cost: Free trial and then can purchase for $34.95
Requires: Mac OS X Leopard.

I recently discovered an amazing web-based application called Evernote. The application is compatible for both Mac and PCs, in addition there is a great mobile app. Basically, this tool helps you to keep track of ideas, lists, notes, thoughts, phone numbers – any detail in your life that just suddenly comes up that you want to remember.

Currently, I have Evernote on my computer and my iPhone as an app. When I’m connected to the web both applications automatically sync to my online account so I never have to worry about plugging in my iPhone to sync my apps. I find this feature extremely useful.Â

I used the photo functionality to take pictures and store them as notes. Afterwards, I can tag these pictures so that they are searchable. Evernote can also read the text in your picture (such as a sign or handwritten note) which it then uses as a searching reference. To date, I have used Evernote for Christmas shopping, maps to the dog park, stealing a recipe from a overpriced book (evil grin) and for storing business cards.

Evernote is an example of a great web-based application with loads of real world practicality. For start-ups especially, it is essential to find an underserved market, find a solution to their problem and properly execute the solution. Evernote has definitely capitalized on this notion and has produced one of my favorite web-based applications available.

For more information check out www.evernote.com or their tutorial at http://www.evernote.com/about/what_is_en/tour/