The secret to keep your Mac’s software up to date

My Macs have a few hundred applications, utilities and more. How do I keep them all updated? Most of them are not from Apple or Adobe or Microsoft, so their automated software update utilities don’t work. I use a somewhat hidden, nearly secret Mac utility to stay up to date.

Forbidden Fruit

Yesterday I was checking online for new software using MacUpdate, a popular site which lists most Mac software updates each day.

MacUpdate watches the latest Macintosh software updates every day, all day long, so you can keep your software up-to-date with the most current bug fixes and features. We visit over 800+ websites a day, looking for version changes to software titles that developers themselves don’t submit to us.

I checked MacUpdate for the latest version of AppFresh, a unique utility that scans your Mac’s applications, then checks to see if your software matches the latest versions.

Remember Chicken of the Sea commercials? To paraphrase: ‘Sorry, Charley. MacUpdate wants tuna that tastes good, not tuna with good taste.’ AppFresh couldn’t be found on MacUpdate. Ditto on VersionTracker. No sign of AppFresh.

Both MacUpdate and VersionTracker have their own version tracking software for Mac users, but you have to pay for the privilege. AppFresh, for now, is free.

Simple Simon

Simon says, “Clap for joy!” There is a better way than pay. AppFresh has a useful niche that competing products don’t want you to know.

AppFresh helps you to keep all applications, widgets, preference panes and application plugins installed on your Mac up to date. All from one place, easy to use and fully integrated into Mac OS X.

That sums it up nicely. But the proof is in action, not words. How does AppFresh stack up? Getting started is easy. Download, drag and drop, double-click.

Easy as Pie

AppFresh preferences are straightforward, though not necessary to get started checking your Mac (click on an image for a close up view).

Ask AppFresh to scan your Mac, then check for the latest updates. Tell AppFresh where to save the files it downloads. Even include or exclude certain files.

Finally, synchronize your AppFresh with iUseThis, an online site which lists the latest Mac software updates. Is it any wonder you can’t find AppFresh on MacUpdate?

Checking Out

AppFresh is a click away from scanning your Mac for software versions to compare with the latest updates. Compare that to trying to find the latest versions for each application.

A lot of applications on your Mac don’t include their own update checker and even if they do, they don’t work from a central place… AppFresh provides a central place to control the software updates available to your Mac, integrating most popular and most common update checking technologies…

My Mac has over 260 applications, utilities, preference panes, Widgets, and plugins to track.

The left column segregates your Mac’s software appropriately in Smart Folders; Apple, Adobe, Microsoft, preference panes, and so on. The right column gives individual details for any selected Mac software.

Update Me, Mama

AppFresh also lists all the Mac software that needs an update in a Smart Folder. Select one, then right click for context menu. You’re a click away from updating. One or all.

Select Install and AppFresh finds the latest version, downloads it, and, in most cases installs it for you.

How easy is that?

AppFresh isn’t perfect. Not all Mac software has their version numbers in the same place, so as it is with MacUpdate or VersionTracker, AppFresh misses one or two.

The combination of AppFresh for automatic updates and iUseThis for tracking is good for Mac users. They keep your Mac’s software up to date so you don’t have to bother.