Not long ago, I posted an entry of some of my favorite useless things. But there are some really awesome bits of code out there that have a purpose and make your Mac experience even better. Here are some of my favorite cheap, free, and cheap-as-free goodies that make your computing life that much better:

iPulse 2.1: This handy tool gives a readout of just about every useful bit of system data. While at first glance it may look like just a circle with some color bars and stuff, you learn to love it. What’s more, you can mouse over the many gages to view a floating window with more information. It works well and it looks cool too.

MacJanitor: In the wee hours of the morning, OS X runs some maintenance scripts called cron routines, which help keep your OS tidy. However, if you put your Mac to sleep or turn it off at night, your Mac will not be able to run these scripts. Enter MacJanitor. MacJanitor allows you to run cron routines at any time with the click of a button or two.

SubEthaEdit 2.1.1: Who would have thought a text editor could be something to get excited about? SubEthaEdit does the standard text editor stuff, like syntax coloring. But it also comes with a unique feature: document sharing. You and your buddies can collaborate on one document, be you in the same room on different computers or in different countries, using Rendezvous (or Bonjour or Oui or Parlez-vous Frances or whatever the hell Apple is going to call it) or the Internet. Calling this feature cool doesn’t do it justice. It flat-out kicks ass.  SubEthaEdit also has a handy built-in web preview, which is indispensable for when designers like myself. SubEthaEdit has found a permanent place in my Dock. You can take it from my cold, dead hands.

Those are mine. What are yours?