Ars Technica has announced the nominees for its first ever Ars Design Awards for Mac OS X. There was no shortage of resentment when Apple dropped the Mac category from its Apple Design Awards for the upcoming 2010 Worldwide Developers Conference. But Ars Technica decided to fill the void with its own competition highlighting the best software for Mac OS X.
Ars readers nominated software in five categories: Best New Mac App, Best Mac OS X User Experience, Most Innovative Mac OS X App, Best Mac OS X App for Education, and Best Student-Created Mac OS X App. Among the nominees you’ll find a number of our favorite apps that have already won their share of praise and awards, including 1Password, Steam, Transmit, Pixelmator, Tweetie, and Dropbox. Altogether, there are 25 apps on the list.
The iPhone and iPad may be in Apple’s limelight this year, but given all the great software recognized by the Ars Awards, there’s no doubt that the Mac OS developer community is thriving.
The Ars staff will select the final winners, but all the nominees are eligible for the Reader’s Choice award, too. Voting is open from now until Sunday, May 30 at 6 p.m. Central time. All the winners will be announced during the WWDC, June 7-11.