Are there any really bad browsers left on the Mac these days? Microsoft’s Internet Explorer died years ago. Since then, we’ve seen dramatic improvements in browser speed and stability, and a boatload of features that would make Microsoft proud.

Safari remains the most popular Mac browser by far, followed closely by Mozilla’s Firefox, Google’s Chrome, and then, well, nothing else. It’s a race for second place, with all the other browsers bringing up the rear in a race for fourth place.

The Mac browser I used to love no longer gets used. Mozilla’s Camino was the Mac-like version of Firefox. It’s still a mix of Firefox designed for the Mac, but it’s also the browser we seldom see show up in web server logs.

Mac users once loved and used Camino. Those days are gone.

It’s not as if Camino doesn’t have modern features. There’s autocomplete in the location bar, plugins, excellent web page rendering speed, and a one-click method to bring all your Safari settings and bookmarks into Camino.

Camino does all the modern browser warfare tricks. There are tabs (prettier than Google’s Chrome). Built-in phishing and malware protection. Pop up advertising blockers. Built-in Mac Keychain support.

What’s not to like about Camino?

It also has AppleScript support for the geekier Mac users. Zooming in on a page or graphic is ultra easy. Camino remembers your tabs and pages, does spell checking within text fields, finds RSS feed URLs, and even updates itself.

What’s not to like about Camino?

The problem seems to be that Camino is too little, too late. Overall, the feature list isn’t much different than other Mac browsers. In other words, there is no compelling reason for a Mac user to use Camino instead of, well, Safari or Firefox or Chrome or even Opera.

All these browsers have the same price tag. Why bother with Camino?

I suspect that Camino gets used by a few Mac users who find Firefox too complex, Chrome too ugly, Opera too busy, and Safari too common. As browsers go, Camino is fine. It’s just not fine enough to make many users switch.

Time is a demanding beast. We all get the same amount each day. What we do with time is left to each of us. Have you ever wondered where the day went? For most of us, time gets frittered away on an overload of functions.

Tictoc is a Mac timer utility which tracks what we do during the day. One task at a time, but with a list of tasks.

Click the Tictoc icon in the Menubar, click the plus + sign to create a new task and start the timer.

That’s it.

As you add tasks, you can stop and start them whenever you need. That gives you a running total on each task.

Over time, you’ll see how much time is devoted to specific tasks, whether productive of wasteful. And, yes, you can run multiple tasks at one time.

Each task has an option to store notes, too. And, power users have keyboard support for most functions. It even knows when you’re not working at your Mac (idle detection).

The key with Tictoc is simplicity. It brings an unfettered elegance to tracking the time you devote to tasks.

What you don’t get is the complexity. Tictoc doesn’t support various projects or clients and you won’t waste time figuring out how to use it. All the tracked data can be exported as XML or CSV files.

If you need to track your tasks on an hourly rate, don’t try Tictoc. There are plenty of Mac apps with more professional functions. It’s also Mac App Store only, so there’s no trial version, and, though it’s inexpensive, it’s priced slightly above my $1.99 threshold of throw away money to try an app.

What is it they say about security? Only the paranoid survive. If what’s on your Mac is valuable and you’d rather not share it with people you don’t know, locking it down is a good thing to do.

Red Hand is a Mac app of a different color that locks your computer down tight. When someone tries to use your Mac, Red Hand snaps a photo and tells you.

The basic ways to invoke the Red Hand locking system apply. Menubar, Dock, or a global hot key all start the Red Hand security process. Even inactivity will lock your Mac.

What sets Red Hand apart is a feature akin to proximity sensors which unlock many new cars as you near the car. You never have to take your keys out. Simply open the door, and push the Start button.

Your car knows who you are by the wireless proximity sensor.

Red Hand works in a similar way. If you have and iPhone and Bluetooth, Red Hand will unlock your Mac when you get nearby (it senses your iPhone as the correct device).

While that sounds simple enough, Red Hand has plenty of preferences to bring out the geek in you.

You can set the options for password, start on login, display of Dock icon (out of sight, out of mind), and then set the locked screen’s behavior, which include dim screen time, input timeout, and penalty time (for those who try to use your Mac).

Red Had has settings for screen locking and logs every time someone attempts to use your Mac, including time, date, and photo (if your Mac has an iSight or FaceTime camera).

There’s more to the app than simple security. Geekier Mac users will appreciate the option to execute scripts (any command line script), and run other actions (email, play audio file, etc.).

It’s a handy, inexpensive way to add a little extra security and a lot more pizazz to your Mac.

How do you launch apps on your Mac? Without creating a scientific analysis or nationwide poll, it’s my view that most app launches occur one of two ways. Clicking on an app icon in the Dock, or finding the app in the Finder, and double clicking (the old fashioned way).

Is there an easier, better, more efficient way to launch apps without using a utility that comes with a tough learning curve?

Maybe. I’ve been a Drag Thing user since the last century. For the point and click crowd (those of us who cannot remember keyboard shortcuts), it’s as easy as it gets.

Except that Drag Thing has a healthy set up learning curve, it’s highly customizable to the point of being complex, and it can take up a whole screen (if you have plenty of Mac apps).

On the other hand, Launcher is an alternative app launch utility that blends ease of use with power user methodology. That means the setup is nominal, but you use the keystroke combos and the keyboard to find and launch apps.

Point and click may be easier, but never leaving the keyboard may be faster. With Launcher you’re not required to remember much.

Open Launcher and set up the apps and commands you want.

You determine the keystroke combo to open Launcher. After that, add web sites to open in Safari, add apps to launch, add search, add files to open, and so on.

It all works right from the keyboard. Invoke the keystroke combo and Launcher displays the launch pad. Enter text and commands appear. Hit Enter to select what you want.

Is that easier than the Dock? No. Point and click is eliminated and only the choices you want are displayed in Launcher.

Is Launcher easier than Drag Thing. Setup is easier, and launching is keyboard driven, so it’s better for power users than the point and click crowd.

To be fair, it’s not a comparison of apples to apples. Drag Thing has much more capability and is highly configurable. Launcher simply launches.

Count me as a Finder fan. Despite all the hoopla and noise through the years, no one has come up with a better or more usable metaphor or method to find files on your Mac than the venerable Finder. That said, nothing improves without change, and Apple is the first to make changes to beloved apps. The Finder got a healthy dose of change with Mac OS X Lion. But two other apps make it even better.

Two Finder Apps: Lite & Heavy

One of the more recent additions to Finder app tweaking is TotalFinder, which isn’t really total anything, but does bring some much needed improvements at a basic level.

Tabs. Safari has them. Other apps have tabs. The Finder does not. Unless you use TotalFinder, which lifts the ugly tabs from Google’s Chrome browser. They work. But you know they’re not designed by Apple.

Total Finder also has a Dual Mode so you can display two Finder windows, side-by-side. That’s a great way to drag and drop files from one folder to another folder that might be buried.

A few other features are handy, including an option to view System files and folders (which Apple usually hides). There’s also sorting options in list view which puts folders on top, they way nature intended.

If TotalFinder isn’t a total revamp of the Finder, what is? Path Finder. This isn’t a Finder add on. It’s a complete replacement for the Finder. In other words, with Path Finder you’ll have an app similar and familiar to Finder, but you won’t need to use Finder.

There’s the dual pane browser (like TotalFinder), tabs and bookmarks which make it easy to click and drill into a folder at multiple levels, custom sorting options, and a bunch of built-in tools.

Yes, you can Archive files and folders on your Mac, but Path Finder builds in the ancient Stuffit Engine. Keyboard shortcuts can be customized, used as an app launcher, an editor, and a terminal app.

I’m just getting started.

Path Finder has a completely familiar look, because it looks like the Finder, but it’s loaded with tools and tweaks, options and features– to the point where it can be overwhelming. If the Finder is your friend, and you’re satisfied with it, don’t bother with TotalFinder or Path Finder. But if you’re ready for more, Path Finder gives the most for the money.

Most of the non-movie, non-television videos on my Mac are family video clips, or vacation video clips. I’m not much on collecting YouTube videos (I’ll collect bookmarks instead). I’m also not much of a believer in multi-tasking on a Mac. How do these two go together? Remarkably well.

Watch YouTube Videos While Multi-tasking

iTube is a little Mac app that lets you watch YouTube videos on your Mac (so you can multitask). It’s an attractive, colorful Smart Player which looks like a small television in the corner of your screen.

Cute, right?

There’a also a built-in search function so you can quickly look at clips in your YouTube video collection. And, there’s a larger player which can be stretched to full screen mode for when you prefer to single-task.

iTube is one of those gazillion, uber-cheap apps from the Mac App Store. While it’s simple to set up and use, and the little television is as cute as you’ll get on a Mac, iTube suffers a bit. I couldn’t get it to turn off my Mac’s screen saver (moved to Caffeine instead) on longer, full screen videos.

The other issue has to do with multi-tasking. How can you multi-task while watching a little television in a corner of your Mac’s screen? Is that true multi-tasking? Or, is it simply white noise entertainment while you work?

Where’s the app Menu on your Mac? If you said, Menubar, you’re correct. Nearly all Mac apps have a menu of selections in the Menubar (not all, but most major apps). Click the Apple icon and make a selection. Click the app’s name in the Menubar, and make selections. That’s the way point and click works on the Mac, right? Is there a better way?

Easy To Find, Extra Work

Remember, nothing improves without change. Whether it’s an app, a process, or wine. Improvement requires change. How do you improve on the Mac’s Menubar?

We always know where it is. We always know what it does. How about if you could bring the Mac’s Menubar to the mouse pointer, regardless of where the pointer is on the screen? No more reaching across the screen to the Menubar. The Menubar comes to you.

To get there, you’ll need an elegant app called MenuEverywhere. Wherever your Mac’s mouse pointer is, there’s a Menubar menu for that particular app.

Without moving your hand, or your arm, or the mouse, the Menubar menu for that app comes to the mouse point, wherever it is on the screen. You can have it pop up vertically using a hot key combo. You can change the font size. You can have it pop up using a mouse button.

This is a great tool for saving time and elbow and wrist effort if you have a Mac with a large display, or multiple displays. The Menubar menu comes to you.

Problems? A few. It doesn’t work in every Mac app, but for sure in most major Mac apps. Configuration is a bit complex, with plenty of options for shortcuts, font size, launch, Menubar location, and so, but not so difficult that it should slow you down during setup.

Apple keeps Mac usage simple by placing the app’s menus in the Menubar. All MenuEverywhere does is bring the Menubar to the tip of the mouse pointer, which saves arm movement and wrist action.

Nearly every Mac app that I use to code has some kind of built-in code snippet or clip manager. Snippets or clips of text can help to reduce the time it takes and the mistakes you make when writing or coding. Hence, a snippet manager for frequently used text clips or code can be a valuable time saver.

A Dime A Dozen

Snippet managers are almost a dime a dozen. Some are free. Some are expensive. Snippet is one I bought some time ago, and it must be doing well as the price keeps going up (and changing). Snippets costs more, but it’s the one I use.

Snippet (without the ‘s’) resides in your Mac’s Menubar so it’s available in any app with a single click. Select text you’re likely to use again and add it to Snippet. All your snippets get synced with MobileMe so you can use it on multiple Macs.

As is likely the case because Snippet makes it easy to add text, you’ll grow a huge snippet library. That huge library of snippets can be searched to find what you want.

Keyboard shortcuts make it easy top bring Snippet to the screen. Nice, right? Inexpensive. Easy to set up and use.

The One I Use

Snippets (with the ‘s’) is a standalone Mac snippet text clip manager with even more features; less so for writers, more so for coders. It’s the one I use.

A screenshot tells you the difference between the two.

Now this is a snippet and text clip manager to write home about.

On the left is the Library, so it works and acts like iPhoto or iTunes would if they managed text clips instead of photos or music.

You create the groups and organize them according to your needs, which makes Snippets particularly useful for coders, but very useful for writers who need snippets or frequently used text just a click away.

Snippets comes with built-in syntax highlighting, a Toolbar that’s easily understandable and a three pane organization that’s truly professional grade without the complexity. Even better, there’s no Save. Everything you enter is saved automatically.

Both apps are try-before-you-buy and priced right. One is low on price and features, high on quick usability. The other costs more, has a stunning array of useful features, but carries a gentle learning curve.

That’s the one I use.