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Find my Font, a very useful desktop font identifier application, is giving away 5 Pro licenses ($69/each) to WRD readers.

Details on joining the giveaway can be found at the bottom of this post and here is what this tool offers:

What is Find my Font?

We sometimes see a beautiful logo and wonder which font is used to create it. Guessing and try-catches is the popular method for reaching to a result but it takes time and usually hard.

Find my Font is a desktop application (with Windows and Mac OS X versions) that can identify a font used in images and helps browsing your font library.

It works by selecting the letters in the image and asks us to type these letters and runs a quick scan within the fonts in our system (any number of font folders can be defined) to find the ones with the closest match.

The great thing is that the application doesn't only return a single result but also lists and orders the fonts according to their similarity score which is handy for finding alternatives.

Find my Font has an easy-to-use toolbox for taking screenshots, rotating images or selecting letters to make sure that the image to be analyzed is ready for a scan.

As mentioned previously, the application is also a font browser where you can type a text and quickly see how it looks. Also, the scan works during browsing fonts so that the alternatives to the system fonts (or their duplicates) can be instantly catched.

How to join the giveaway?

Find my Font is giving away 5 * Pro licenses and it is enough to comment for joining this giveaway -and let us know you favorite font in the comments which can help other commenters meet new lovely fonts – totally optional : )-.

Winners will be selected randomly with the query below on 13 Dec 2011 (a week later):

SELECT * FROM wp_comments WHERE comment_post_id=2602 AND comment_approved=1 AND comment_type='' GROUP BY comment_author_email ORDER BY RAND() LIMIT 5

Good luck to all.

And, the winners

The winners are selected and here they are:

• Aldo (comment #454823)
• Josh D. (comment #457922)
• NRL (comment #454441)
• Robert Barcus (comment #454262)
• Webster (comment #455313)

Congratulations..

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GAget is a Mac OS X widget for anyone willing to see the important Google Analytics stats quickly and frequently.

It displays the number of visits, new visitors and bounces with a chic interface.

The widget is not limited to a single site and it is easy to switch between profiles (also, multiple instances can be used).

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Antialiaser is a free application that eases OpenType and TrueType font visualization and customization for using them inside Flex and AIR projects.

Using the application, it is possible to use any font, fine tune them and get the generated CSS.

Its interface shows the system + embedded fonts, standard + zoom view and has various options like activating transparent background, comparisons and snapshots.

Advanced and beginner Flex developers will probably both find the application useful for a better typography in their projects.

Antialiser comes with versions for for Windows and Mac OS X.

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When it comes to the world of Mac, "free" is not a frequently used word as most of the softwares are paid.

For web designers and developers which require many applications (like an IDE, image editor, FTP and DB manager, etc.) for the job, they can sum up to a serious budget.

However, to the contrary, there are some free (even open source) and high quality Mac applications for web designers/developers which can easily create an alternative.

WRD brings you a huge list of (50+) these free Mac apps which can easily be as powerful as the paid apps you may be using. Just check them out and bookmark for using in the future (if not starting to use instantly):

Image And Graphic

Pencil

An open source application (works on Windows and Linux besides Mac OS X) that enables us to create hand-drawn animations (cartoon) using both bitmap and vector graphics.

Inkscape

Inkscape is an open source vector graphics editor which works in all major platforms and offers the features of a high-quality vector drawing application.

With a slick interface, the software supports lots of advanced SVG features (markers, clones, alpha blending, etc.) and editing nodes or performing complex path operations can be simply handled.

GIMP

GIMP is probably the most popular open source image editing software around.

It is very powerful, works with layers just like Photoshop and can be extended with lots of free-to-use plugins.

P.S. Also check the GIMP on OS X project which has pre-built  application bundles .

DrawBerry

If you don't need any high-level vevtor drawing applications, DrawBerry can be the right tool.

With the standard features like layers, inspectors, various tools and workspace, DrawBerry is a an easy-to-use drawing solution.

Google SketchUp

An easy-to-use and powerful 3D modeling program built by Google.

It is possible to create anything from simple drawings to advanced ones and it comes with a 3D Warehouse that includes lots of free models.

Blender

A feature-rich and open source application for 3D modeling, texturing, skinning, lighting, animations and much more.

It works in all major platforms and also comes with features for realtime 3D/game creation including a "graphical logic editor", Python scripting API for advanced scenarios or a physics engine.

Pixen

A Mac OS X pixel editor that has a Photoshop-like interface and pretty lightweight.

It has realtime tiled editing and powerful palette control. Also, different tools can be assigned to left and right mouse control for a faster usage.

Paintbrush

A simple paint program, similar to Windows Paint, for quickly creating and editing images.

The most frequent use would probably be resizing or cropping images. And, it can open + save in all major formats.

Seashore

The app is built around GIMP's technology, uses the same file format and has gradients, textures + anti-aliasing for both text and brush strokes.

It is open source, supports multiple layers and alpha channel editing.

Colorate

This is a tool for creating harmonized color palettes and color schemes.

By selecting a color from the color panel or any other resource, Colorate can automatically create a palette (and saved in the library).

NodeBox

Using NodeBox, you can create static animated and interactive 2D visuals using Python and export them as a PDF or a QuickTime movie.

ImageOptim

A tiny application for optimizing images (.PNG, .JPEG, .GIF) without any loss in the quality by removing unnecessary comments/color profiles and compressing them.

ImageOptim is open source and the interface allows drag 'n' drop which is a real time-saver.

ColourMod Dashboard

A Mac OS X dashboard widget for quickly picking colorsand converting Hex values to RGB, CMYK or HSV.

SiteCapture

SiteCapture can take screenshots of web pages using the WebKit engine.

It is possible to define a custom list (any number of web pages) or get the URLs from Safari bookmarks.

Paparazzi!

A tiny utility for taking full-sized screenshots of web pages.

There are settings for the default file/name format, size of the screenshot and the ability for importing Safari bookmarks.

Free Ruler

A ruler which can be used horizontally or vertically and be used independently or simultaneously.

An interactive tick mark auto-follows the mouse for easier tracking, ruler can be resized for big-sized measurements and it supports multiple units.

FTP And Storage

Cyberduck

An open source application which enable us to manage files in almost any remote locations including FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, Cloud Files, Amazon S3, Windows Azure and even Google Docs

It also has a seamless integration with any editor for editing remote files.

FileZilla

One of the most popular free FTP applications around which supports FTP, FTP over SSL/TLS (FTPS) and SFTP.

It is a cross-platform app, works with IPv6 addresses, multilingual and has a powerful site + queue manager.

Chatbox

Chatbox is a free app for the popular file storage/sharing solution Dropbox for commenting and/or discussing about files.

If you are a team of designers/developers who host project files on Dropbox, then the application is a must-have.

OneButton FTP

An FTP application which focuses on simplicity, has file queuing and drag 'n' drop support.

The application is no longer developed/improved but still available and functional.

SvnX

An open source interface for SVN for browsing working copies, browsing logs and revisions of the repositories.

It supports all major SVN commands, drag 'n' drop between repository browser and Finder is possible and integrates with FileMerge.

GitX

A Mac OS X interface to Git repositories with a detailed history and commit viewer.

It allows exploring the tree of any revision and integrates with QuickLook.

IDEs & Text Editors

Some of the applications are also mentioned in a previously published WRD article: 16 Stable & Free IDEs For Designers/Developers. Feel free to check it if you are searching for IDEs that will run on other operating systems.

Aptana Studio

Aptana Studio is a very impressive and open source development tool that supports HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript and Ruby, Rails, PHP & Python on the server side.

It has a "code assist" feature where you can find out details about functions, elements, etc.

You can stay synchronized with the server via FTP, SFTP and control your code with the help of an integrated debugger.

There are many other features that will ease the development process including Git integration or a built-in terminal.

Komodo Edit

Komodo Edit is an open source application that has support for PHP, Python, Ruby, JavaScript, Perl, Tcl, XML, HTML 5 and CSS 3.

It has syntax coloring, folding, background syntax checking,  auto-complete and calltips.

There are lots of extensions created by the community that will help you customize it more.

Code::Blocks

A flexible IDE, focused on C/C++ code, that can be extended very easily with its powerful plugin support.

It has syntax highlighting, code folding, auto-completion and a tabbed interface.

There is also a task manager to simplify working on the same project for multiple users.

Aptana RadRails

Similar to Aptana Studio, RadRails is also a great code editor that is open source. With only one difference, it is focused on Ruby on Rails applications.

It includes support for project navigation, smart code assistance, visual debugging and structure outlining.

Eclipse

Eclipse is a free, state-of-the-art Java development environment (there are also JS, PHP and C/C++ versions).

It has a very active community and many open source plugins + developer tools built around the ecosystem.

CodeLite

An open source IDE for C/C++ which can be easily extended with plugins.

It has a XML-based syntax highlighting for most of the popular languages and has a powerful code-completion mechanism.

NetBeans

It consists of an open-source IDE and an application platform that enable developers to rapidly create web, enterprise, desktop, and mobile applications.

Java is the main platform and it also supports JavaFX, PHP, JavaScriptx, Ruby +Ruby on Rails, Groovy and Grails and C/C++.

Xcode

Xcode is the "Mac way" of building for Apple-powered platforms.

It includes features to complete all the build, debug and test cycles.

A graphical editor (Interface Builder) helps designing every aspect of your iOS or Mac OS Xapplication’s graphical user interface.

For iPhone developers, there is a full-featured simulator for a complete testing of the output and much more.

MochaCode

A Java IDE that offers a complete "Mac" user experience with text editors, keyboard shortcuts, toolbars, etc., all behaving exactly as you would expect from a Mac application

There is a powerful code assistant with auto-complete and a library displaying any parameters related to the code.

Kod

Kod is a text editor built for programmers with syntax highlighting, tabbed windows and an integrated scripting environment based on Node.js.

The styling of the editor can be completely customized with CSS3.

Geany

Geany is a simple-yet-powerful IDE that support all major filetypes.

It supports code-folding, auto-completion, code navigation and new features can be added with the plugin support

KDevelop

The IDE supports many programming languages like C, C++, Fortran, Java, Pascal, Perl, PHP, Python and Ruby.

It has built-in project management, debugger and can be extended with plugins.

WebScripter

An IDE with syntax highlighting, scriptable macros and code completion.

It is not developed further but still functional.

TextWrangler

A full-featured text-editor which can compare two versions of a text file, find the differences and merge them.

With syntax highlighting, it integrates with native Perl environment  and has a built in function scanner allowing easy navigation of source code.

Vico Editor

Another editor for programmers with integrated SFTP and powerful keyboard management.

Simple CSS

A CSS authoring tool for creating and editing CSS files easier.

Besides writing CSS rules from scratch, a visual builder helps selecting the values for properties.

Less.app

This app simplifies using {Less} by auto-compiling *.less files into standard CSS.

Others (Virtualization, Db & Font Managers, etc.)

VirtualBox (Virtualization)

The ability to install another OS under Mac is very handy specially for IE-testing of websites and using Windows-specific apps.

VirtualBox is a free virtualization software for Mac (works on other operating systems as well) that is easy-to-run and uses a fair amount of CPU + memory.

Sequel Pro (MySQL Manager)

A complete MySQL database manager that can connect to any number of databases and has features like:

• a query editor
• import/export of databases/tables
• paginated data browsing
• and much more.

LittleIpsum (Lorem Ipsum Generator)

A lorem ipsum generator which can create words, sentences or paragraphs and sits in the menu bar for quick access.

FontDoc (Font Management)

A simple but very useful application for browsing the fonts installed.

It can display all fonts with a custom text in any size and a must-have for anyone with a huge font collection.

Dashalytics (For Google Analytics)

A Dashboard widget which offers a quick access to Google Analytics and displays all major reports.

It lists all websites listed under the mentioned Analytics account and the stats of the website to be viewed can be changed anytime.

WidSense (For Google Adsense)

A Dashboard widget for reaching Google AdSense data instantly.

For any given ad, it shows the number of pageviews, clicks and budget spent.

Flaex (SWF Extractor)

Compiled Flash files (.SWF) are normally locked and resources used inside can not be reached however this application is for extracting images, sounds, videos, etc… from any .SWF file.

iTerm2 (Terminal)

An open source terminal emulator for Mac OS X which makes working in different sessions in the same screen possible.

The application is multilingual and has many lovely features like auto-complete, instant replay , growl support and more.

Anxiety (To-Do Manager)

A solid to-do management which can synchronize with iCal and Mai.

It makes sure that you are notified with the stuff to be done on time and helps you track them easily.

MAMP (Instant MySQL, Apache, MySQL)

A one-click installer which installs and configures a local web server environment with Apache, MySQL and PHP.

It also comes with frequently used development tools like phpMyAdmin, SQLiteManager and extensions like Zend Optimizer or curl.

Cocoalicious (For Delicious)

If you are keeping your bookmarks with Delicious, Cocoalicious make them much more reachable.

It works fast, lists the bookmarks quickly, shows your tags and supports filtering.

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When creating a web application or a software, it is usually a good idea to search for resources, like snippets, plugins, etc., that can ease the job.

Cocoa Controls is a website which offers this functionality to iOS and Mac OS X developers by listing open source and custom UI components for these platforms.

There are already 150+ controls (like this awesome iCarousel) where new ones are added regularly. Also, you can submit new resources as well.

P.S. What would be greater is a categorization of the controls so they can be found much easier.

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Hub List is an open source to-do list application that works on the desktop.

It has versions for Windows, Mac OS X + Linux and a mobile one that mostly targets the iOS platform.

The application supports creating folders>sub-folders and tasks>sub-tasks for an unlimited hierarchy.

Hub List is currently in beta status and working on impressive features like auto-synchronize data to any private cloud, collaboration and importing-exporting data.

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Unify is a software, powered by Deutsche Telekom, which provides a common API developing cross-platform applications that will look and feel like native ones.

It makes use of HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript and other resources like qooxdoo, PhoneGap, Adobe AIR and Sass.

The code can be re-used between platforms and supported ones are iOS, Android, WebOS, Windows and Mac OS.

Unify also eliminates the traditional limitations of the web browser and can detect the current geo location, access the file system, etc.

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Bowline is an open source framework (not a platform like Adobe AIR or Titanium) for creating desktop applications with Ruby, HTML and JavaScript.

It respects MVC, views can be designed in HTML5/CSS3 and then you can bind them to your Ruby models.

There's no request/response cycle. Any changes in models automatically get reflected in the view.

Applications built with Bowline currently works in Mac OS X + Linux and Windows support is on the way.

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BrowserLab, a web-based service by Adobe, enables you to test websites on multiple browsers and OSs.

It is possible to create a custom browser set where the screenshots will be created only for those browsers (also helps speeding up the results).

Screenshots can be previewed in 2-up or onion-skin views which makes comparing multiple versions easier and x/y rulers can be used for sensitive measurements..

The service currently supports different Firefox, Safari and IE versions for Windows and Mac OS X. However, it is still in beta and new browsers are added within time.

BrowserLab is part of the Adobe CS Live and free for 1 year if you sign-up before April 30, 2011.

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Sequel Pro is a free MySQL management tool for Mac OS X.

It offers full table management (including indexes), supports MySQL views, imports/exports from SQL/CSV files & compatible with MySQL 3/4/5 databases.

The application supports SSH tunnel connections besides standard local & remote connections for reaching databases behind firewalls.

It can connect to multiple databases at the same time, offers automatic syntax highlighting for your custom queries, supports ~30 different encoding options & much more.

P.S. The project is open source & you can check the source for improving it further.

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