Alfred, like in batman lore is the ultimate servant. Ask and it will be launched. Lose something? Activate Alfred and type "Find " followed by the file name or file type you are looking for and it will find it for you, hit enter and it will show you where the file is in a finder box. Admittedly I never gave the built in search feature for Mac, called Spotlight, enough use to say that Alfred is way better than Spotlight. What I can say though is that since using Alfred I have never found a need to use Spotlight ever again.

I have to admit I was skeptical at first, since it should theoretically work just like spotlight does. But it's the little things that really make it shine. small stuff like using Alfred to initiate an online search on Google or Amazon. There are other cool stuff I've read it could do as well like add a todo list item without needing to launch OmniFocus.

Alfred is available both online and the Mac App Store totally free, with an option for premium features if you want more functionality.

UPDATE: The guys over at Mac.AppStorm enumerates here why Alfred is one of the coolest Apps around.

Note: This list is by no stretch of the imagination supposed to be perceived as a comprehensive review. It is meant to introduce you to some nifty apps that I feel would make working on your computers a better place. Included in this write ups are insights on how I regularly use the apps and how they have helped me work better and more efficiently.