Virgin Install: Growl

My last few picks for Virgin Install have been things that lots of Mac users know about, but this one is a hidden gem (which we have covered before). Growl, much like Quicksilver, takes a bit of effort to get your mind around, but once you get it you will wonder how you lived without it.

What is Growl? It is a way for various applications to give you a graphical notification that certain things have happened. There are a variety of addons that let iTunes and Applescript talk to Growl, amongst other apps, so you can get most applications to use it.

How do I use it? Growl pops up a little window and tells me who has logged onto IM, and it tells me the currently playing track in iTunes. Small things to be sure, but boy are they handy.