Mac OS X: a few tools

Just before arriving in Japan, I was in Los Angeles visiting some family.  I've been waiting since December 2009 for the latest MacBook Pro update and, during that visit to California, it finally arrived.  With the help of my brother, I snagged a 15" MBP with the new i7 Arrandale core and upgraded it to 8GB ram.  This thing is pretty sweet.

However, coming from Windows 7 (which, I must say, is a really, really slick OS),  I was longing for a few of the niceties that it had to offer.  OS X is a fantastic operating system, but the additional window-gestures of Windows 7 (maximizing windows by dragging the title bar to top of screen, halving a window vertically by dragging the title bar to either screen-left or right, etc.) were very convenient.  Being the nerd that I am, I searched for a tool that would allow this functionality on OS X.

Enter: BetterTouchTool.

It not only allows the awesomeness of window-organization, but also allows deep customization of your own gestures.

It also has three-finger tap/click built-in.  I use this to invoke a middle-click for use with programs like Firefox and Chrome Browser to open links in new tabs.  Vanilla OS X does not have this functionality built-in, so users must either do a two-finger tap/click to bring up the contextual menu and then select "Open in New Tab" or hold Control and single-click.  BTT makes workflow so much better.

It also has support for the Magic Mouse and allows for custom gestures for that device, too.

A great program, especially if you're a recent "switcher" from Windows 7 to OS X!