Difference between revisions of "Mac Users:Suggested Applications"

From PublicWiki
Jump to: navigation, search
(→‎Utilities)
Line 2: Line 2:
  
 
==Text==
 
==Text==
−
[http://macromates.com/ TextMate] is a brilliant general purpose text editor while others prefer [http://www.barebones.com/ BBEdit]. [http://www.codingmonkeys.de/subethaedit/ SubEthaEdit] is a novel collaborative text editor that some use. If you can't afford the above, [http://www.barebones.com/products/textwrangler/ TextWrangler] is a mini-BBedit that's good. Vi users can try [http://macvim.org/OSX/index.php Vim] and Emacs users can try [http://www.porkrind.org/emacs/ Carbon Emacs]. To get the Tex compiler, use either fink or darwinports to get the teTeX package.
+
===Coding===
−
 
+
*[http://macromates.com/ TextMate] is a brilliant general purpose text editor. The new standard.
−
As far as IDE's go, [http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/xcode/ Xcode] and [http://www.eclipse.org/ Eclipse] are good and free options.
+
*[http://www.barebones.com/ BBEdit] the old standard. [http://www.barebones.com/products/textwrangler/ TextWrangler] is a free mini-BBedit.
−
 
+
*[http://www.codingmonkeys.de/subethaedit/ SubEthaEdit] is a novel collaborative text editor that some use.
−
For creating Tex documents, try [http://macromates.com/ TextMate] or [http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~koch/texshop/texshop.html TeXShop]. If you need to embed equations in documents, [http://ktd.club.fr/programmation/latexit_en.php LaTeXiT] is your best option. [http://bibdesk.sourceforge.net/ BibDesk] is a good bibliography manager.
+
*[http://macvim.org/OSX/index.php Vim]
 +
*[http://www.porkrind.org/emacs/ Carbon Emacs].  
 +
===IDE===
 +
*[http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/xcode/ Xcode] is the C standard
 +
*[http://www.eclipse.org/ Eclipse] is the Java standard
 +
===Tex===
 +
*[http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~koch/texshop/texshop.html TeXShop] is TeX specific any editor is good.
 +
*[http://ktd.club.fr/programmation/latexit_en.php LaTeXiT] is for embedding quotations in any document.
 +
*[http://bibdesk.sourceforge.net/ BibDesk] is a good bibliography manager.
  
 
==Graphics==
 
==Graphics==
−
For creating posters, graphs and other vector based images, [http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnigraffle/ OmniGraffle] is the standard but is expensive. For more free form work, try [http://www.inkscape.org/ Inkscape], which is an Illustrator clone.
+
*[http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnigraffle/ OmniGraffle] is great for creating posters, graphs and other vector based images.
 +
*[http://www.inkscape.org/ Inkscape] is an Illustrator clone and is good for free form work.
  
 
==Productivity==
 
==Productivity==
−
[http://www.neooffice.org/ NeoOffice] is a Mac friendly version of the free [http://www.openoffice.org/ OpenOffice]. You can use your site or personal license for [http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/office2004/office2004.aspx?pid=office2004 Office 2004]. Apple also has [http://www.apple.com/iwork/keynote/ Keynote] for presentations and [http://www.apple.com/iwork/pages/ Pages] which may or may not come with your machine.
+
* [http://www.neooffice.org/ NeoOffice] is a Mac friendly version of the free [http://www.openoffice.org/ OpenOffice].
 +
*[http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/office2004/office2004.aspx?pid=office2004 Office 2004] is availabe from the department.
 +
*[http://www.apple.com/iwork/keynote/ Keynote] is Apple's presentation software.
 +
*[http://www.apple.com/iwork/pages/ Pages] is Apple's wordprocessing software..
  
−
Note taking can be done with [http://www.hogbaysoftware.com/product/mori Mori], [http://www.barebones.com/products/yojimbo/ Yojimbo], [http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnioutliner/ OmniOutliner]. For quick and free notes try, [http://homepage.mac.com/stewart.hector/home/software/software.html Notepad Widget] or your favorite text editor.
+
===Note Taking===
 +
*[http://www.hogbaysoftware.com/product/mori Mori]
 +
*[http://www.barebones.com/products/yojimbo/ Yojimbo]
 +
*[http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnioutliner/ OmniOutliner]
 +
*[http://homepage.mac.com/stewart.hector/home/software/software.html Notepad Widget] is good for quick notes
  
 
==Browsing==
 
==Browsing==
−
[http://www.caminobrowser.org Camino] is based on the Mozilla rendering engine, but unlike Firefox it is "Mac-y" in nature. It uses Keychain, OS X elements, etc. You can find optimized versions on [http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewforum.php?f=12 MozillaZine] and extensions at [http://pimpmycamino.com PimpMyCamino].
+
*[http://www.caminobrowser.org Camino] is based on the Mozilla rendering engine, but unlike Firefox it is "Mac-y" in nature. It uses Keychain, OS X elements, etc. You can find optimized versions on [http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewforum.php?f=12 MozillaZine] and extensions at [http://pimpmycamino.com PimpMyCamino].
  
−
[http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/safari/ Safari] is the standard OS X browser. [http://webkit.org/ WebKit] is Apple's open source (and often faster) browser engine. Find extensions at [http://pimpmycamino.com PimpMySafari].
+
*[http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/safari/ Safari] is the standard OS X browser. [http://webkit.org/ WebKit] is Apple's open source (and often faster) browser engine. Find extensions at [http://pimpmycamino.com PimpMySafari].
  
−
[http://www.firefox.com/ Firefox], is a cross-platform browser, but there are [http://www.beatnikpad.com/firefox processor optimized] versions available. Find extensions at [https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/extensions/ Mozilla AddOns].
+
*[http://www.firefox.com/ Firefox], is a cross-platform browser, but there are [http://www.beatnikpad.com/firefox processor optimized] versions available. Find extensions at [https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/extensions/ Mozilla AddOns].
  
 
If you are using, Camino or Firefox, you'll note that you don't by default have the ability to render PDFs in the browser. If you're running on an Intel mac, you're up a creek without a paddle, switch to Safari if you really need it. If you're using a PowerPC mac then you can download [http://www.schubert-it.com/pluginpdf/ PDF Browser], which basically puts Preview.app into the browsers.
 
If you are using, Camino or Firefox, you'll note that you don't by default have the ability to render PDFs in the browser. If you're running on an Intel mac, you're up a creek without a paddle, switch to Safari if you really need it. If you're using a PowerPC mac then you can download [http://www.schubert-it.com/pluginpdf/ PDF Browser], which basically puts Preview.app into the browsers.
  
 
==Chat==
 
==Chat==
−
Most people use [http://www.adiumx.com Adium] (based on Gaim but pretty) because it's [http://www.ksuther.com/chax/ customizable] and allows for all the chat protocols in one client. It has medicore file transfer support so some prefer [http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/ichat/ iChat] paired with [http://www.ksuther.com/chax/ Chax].  
+
===AIM/MSN/YIM/Gtalk===
 +
*[http://www.adiumx.com Adium] (based on Gaim but pretty) because it's [http://www.ksuther.com/chax/ customizable] and allows for all the chat protocols in one client. It has medicore file transfer support.
 +
 
 +
*Apple [http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/ichat/ iChat] paired with [http://www.ksuther.com/chax/ Chax].
 +
 
 +
===VoIP===
 +
*[http://www.skype.com/ Skype] is the VoIP standard.
 +
*[http://www.gizmoproject.com/ GizmoProject] is an OSS version of Skype.
  
−
For VoIP, [http://www.skype.com/ Skype] and [http://www.gizmoproject.com/ GizmoProject] have Mac clients. For those still on IRC, try [http://colloquy.info/ Colloquy].
+
===IRC===
 +
*[http://colloquy.info/ Colloquy] is a popular Client
 +
*[http://www.irssi.org/ irssi] is fro the CLI IRC crowd.
  
 
==Mail==
 
==Mail==
−
You can use [http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/mail/ Mail], [http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/thunderbird/ Thunderbird] or [http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/entourage2004/entourage2004.aspx?pid=entourage2004 Entourage]. Mail tends to be more popular because it's easy and simple. Entourage tends to be the reverse of Mail, and Thunderbird sits in the middle. If you use Mail, try [http://c-command.com/spamsieve/ SpamSieve] or it's free counterpart [http://junkmatcher.sourceforge.net/Home/index.html JunkMatcher] for better filtering. Use [http://harnly.net/software/letterbox/ LetterBox] to get three column layouts.
+
*[http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/mail/ Mail]. Try [http://c-command.com/spamsieve/ SpamSieve] or it's free counterpart [http://junkmatcher.sourceforge.net/Home/index.html JunkMatcher] for better filtering. Use [http://harnly.net/software/letterbox/ LetterBox] to get three column layouts.
 +
*[http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/thunderbird/ Thunderbird]
 +
*[http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/entourage2004/entourage2004.aspx?pid=entourage2004 Entourage]
 +
 
 +
Mail tends to be more popular because it's easy and simple. Entourage tends to be the reverse of Mail, and Thunderbird sits in the middle.  
  
 
==Calendar==
 
==Calendar==
−
You can use [http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/ical/ iCal] or [http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/entourage2004/entourage2004.aspx?pid=entourage2004 Entourage]. iCal tends to be more popular because it's easy and simple. Entourage tends to be the reverse of iCal but has better Exchange server support.
+
[http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/ical/ iCal]
 +
[http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/entourage2004/entourage2004.aspx?pid=entourage2004 Entourage].  
 +
 
 +
iCal tends to be more popular because it's easy and simple. Entourage tends to be the reverse of iCal but has better Exchange server support.
  
 
==RSS==
 
==RSS==
−
[http://vienna-rss.sourceforge.net/vienna21.php Vienna] is an open-source client that works well. [http://www.newsgator.com/NGOLProduct.aspx?ProdID=NetNewsWire NetNewsWire] (both pro and lite) are pretty good too.
+
*[http://vienna-rss.sourceforge.net/vienna21.php Vienna] is an open-source client that works well.
 +
*[http://www.newsgator.com/NGOLProduct.aspx?ProdID=NetNewsWire NetNewsWire] (both pro and lite) are pretty good too.
  
 
==PDF==
 
==PDF==
−
[http://pdfview.sourceforge.net/ PDFView] is vastly superior to Apple's [http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/pdf/ Preview]. Also, take a look at [http://www.yepthat.com/ yep] which is like iPhoto for your documents.
+
*[http://pdfview.sourceforge.net/ PDFView] is vastly superior PDF Reader.
 +
*[http://www.adobe.com/products/reader/ Reader 8] is Adobe's offering.
 +
*[http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/pdf/ Preview].  
 +
*[http://www.yepthat.com/ yep] is like iPhoto for your PDFs
  
 
==File Transfer==
 
==File Transfer==
−
For FTP/SFTP, [http://cyberduck.ch/ Cyberduck] and [http://rsug.itd.umich.edu/software/fugu/ Fugu] are nice and free, while [http://www.panic.com/transmit/ Transmit] is nicer and not free. [http://www.fetchsoftworks.com/ Fetch] works and is free for students.
+
===FTP===
 +
*[http://cyberduck.ch/ Cyberduck] offers good FTP/SFTP support.
 +
*[http://rsug.itd.umich.edu/software/fugu/ Fugu] are nice but getting old.
 +
*[http://www.fetchsoftworks.com/ Fetch] works and is free for students.
 +
*[http://www.panic.com/transmit/ Transmit] is nicest of all but  not free.  
  
−
For torrents, try [http://www.azureuswiki.com/index.php/Intel_Macs Azureus] if you need lots of functionality and plugs-ins. For more Mac-centric clients, [http://sarwat.net/bittorrent/ Tomato Torrent], [http://transmission.m0k.org/ Transmission] and [http://www.xtorrentp2p.com/ XTorrent] are all brilliant.
+
===Torrents===
 +
*[http://www.azureuswiki.com/index.php/Intel_Macs Azureus] if you need lots of functionality and plugs-ins.  
 +
*[http://sarwat.net/bittorrent/ Tomato Torrent]
 +
*[http://transmission.m0k.org/ Transmission]
 +
*[http://www.xtorrentp2p.com/ XTorrent].
  
−
For general downloading, there is [http://www.yazsoft.com/ Speed Download] which is elegant and [http://www.igetter.net/ iGetter] which works.
+
===General Downloading===
 +
*[http://www.yazsoft.com/ Speed Download] is the most popular.
 +
*[http://www.igetter.net/ iGetter] is free.
  
 
==Music==
 
==Music==
−
For listening to music, [http://www.apple.com/itunes/ iTunes] is the standard and you can get some useful [http://www.dougscripts.com/ scripts]. There are also [http://www.chaoticsoftware.com/ProductPages/MediaRage.html Media Rage] or [http://jay.tuley.name/pages/software#ieatbrainz IEatBrainz] (old) for tag management, [http://nclasssoftware.com/index.php/nClassSoftware/corripio/ Corripio] or [http://www.widget-foundry.com/widgets/amazonart.htm Amazon Album Art widget] for artwork management. If you switch music libraries often, try [http://homepage.mac.com/sroy/libra/ Libra].  
+
===Listening===
 +
*[http://www.apple.com/itunes/ iTunes] is the standard and you can get some useful [http://www.dougscripts.com/ scripts].
 +
*[http://panic.com/audion/ Audion] old but good.
 +
 
 +
===Managing===
 +
*[http://www.chaoticsoftware.com/ProductPages/MediaRage.html Media Rage] for doing managing artwork, tags, etc.
 +
*[http://jay.tuley.name/pages/software#ieatbrainz IEatBrainz] for automatic tag management, *[http://nclasssoftware.com/index.php/nClassSoftware/corripio/ Corripio] *[http://www.widget-foundry.com/widgets/amazonart.htm Amazon Album Art widget] is widget for getting art.
 +
*[http://homepage.mac.com/sroy/libra/ Libra] helps manage multiple libraries..  
  
−
For making music, [http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/ Garageband] is pretty good if you don't want any "pro" apps. Audio editing can be done with either [http://www.hairersoft.com/Amadeus.html Amadeus] or [http://www.freeverse.com/soundstudio/ SoundStudio]. You can also try [http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ Audacity].
+
===Making===
 +
*[http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/ Garageband] is pretty good if you don't want any "pro" apps. *[http://www.hairersoft.com/Amadeus.html Amadeus] is a great sound editor.
 +
*[http://www.freeverse.com/soundstudio/ SoundStudio] is good too.  
 +
*[http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ Audacity] is an OSS editor.
  
 
==Video==
 
==Video==
−
As far as playing video, [http://www.apple.com/quicktime/mac.html QuickTime] paired with [http://perian.org/ Perian] and [http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/wmcomponents.mspx Flip4Mac] is a really powerful combination. You can also use [http://www.videolan.org/vlc/ VLC], or [http://mplayerosx.sourceforge.net/ MPlayer].
+
===Watching===
−
 
+
*[http://www.apple.com/quicktime/mac.html QuickTime] is great. Add [http://perian.org/ Perian] and [http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/wmcomponents.mspx Flip4Mac] to make it better.
−
For making videos, you can pick your choice of [http://www.apple.com/finalcut/ iMovie HD, Final Cut Express HD, and Final Cut Studio]. Which one you pick depends on what you want to do (and spend).
+
*[http://www.videolan.org/vlc/ VLC] plays almost all formats.
 +
*[http://mplayerosx.sourceforge.net/ MPlayer] is less popular but works as well.
 +
===Making====
 +
*[http://www.apple.com/finalcut/ iMovie HD, Final Cut Express HD, and Final Cut Studio]. Which one you pick depends on what you want to do (and spend).
  
 
==Burning Software==
 
==Burning Software==
−
OS X has built-in [http://www.apple.com/support/tiger/burn/ disk burning], but most find [http://www.roxio.com/enu/products/toast/titanium/overview.html Toast] much better. [http://burn-osx.sourceforge.net/ Burn] is a free alternative.
+
*[http://www.apple.com/support/tiger/burn/ Finder] has built-in burning.
 +
*[http://www.roxio.com/enu/products/toast/titanium/overview.html Toast] is the burning standard.
 +
*[http://burn-osx.sourceforge.net/ Burn] is a free alternative.
  
 
==Photos==
 
==Photos==
−
[http://www.apple.com/ilife/iphoto/iPhoto iPhoto] which is simple and [http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/family.html Photoshop] which is complex are at the two ends of the spectrum. You can also try [http://www.lemkesoft.com/en/graphcon.htm GraphicConverter] which sits neatly in the middle, or [http://gimp-app.sourceforge.net/ Gimp.app].
+
*[http://www.apple.com/ilife/iphoto/iPhoto iPhoto] Simple and easy. *[http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/family.html Photoshop] The legendary phototool.
 +
*[http://www.lemkesoft.com/en/graphcon.htm GraphicConverter] Good for quick edits and batch processing.
 +
*[http://gimp-app.sourceforge.net/ Gimp.app] Not quite Photoshop, but close and free.
  
 
==Navigation==
 
==Navigation==
−
It's hard to explain these apps, but they sit between using a command line and using a gui. [http://www.obdev.at/products/launchbar/index.html LaunchBar] gets you instant access to apps, documents, search engines, etc. It's extremely quick, stable and has limited features. [http://blacktree.com/apps/quicksilver/ Quicksilver] is a similar open source application, but with slightly less stability and a ton more features.  
+
*[http://www.obdev.at/products/launchbar/index.html LaunchBar] gets you instant access to apps, documents, search engines, etc. It's extremely quick, stable and has limited features.
 +
*[http://blacktree.com/apps/quicksilver/ Quicksilver] is a similar to LaunchBar. It's open source, has a ton more features, but is less stable.
 +
*[http://www.cocoatech.com/ Path Finder] A replacement for the Finder
  
 
==Notification==
 
==Notification==
−
[http://growl.info/ Growl] allows applications that support Growl to send you notifications. A lot of applications use Growl and it's generally a useful thing to have installed. It essentially replaces (and largely outdoes) the unified windows notification system that windows users are used to having pop up from the system tray.
+
*[http://growl.info/ Growl] allows applications that support Growl to send you notifications. It's generally a useful thing to have installed.  
  
 
==Backup==
 
==Backup==
−
[http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html SuperDuper] makes a bootable image of your hard drive. [http://www.econtechnologies.com/site/Pages/ChronoSync/chrono_overview.html Chronosync] makes versioned incremental backups of any folder you specify.
+
*[http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html SuperDuper] makes a bootable image of your hard drive.
 +
*[http://www.econtechnologies.com/site/Pages/ChronoSync/chrono_overview.html Chronosync] makes versioned incremental backups of any folder you specify.
  
 
==Utilities==
 
==Utilities==
−
*[http://www.titanium.free.fr/pgs/english.html OnyX] helps you run system maintenance tasks and configure hidden parameters.  
+
*[http://www.titanium.free.fr/pgs/english.html OnyX] helps you run system maintenance tasks and configure hidden parameters.
 
*[http://sourceforge.net/projects/applejack AppleJack] is a similar utility to OnyX but runs in single user mode.
 
*[http://sourceforge.net/projects/applejack AppleJack] is a similar utility to OnyX but runs in single user mode.
−
*[http://www.ragingmenace.com/software/menumeters/ MenuMeters] - system monitoring, cpu, network throughput, disk, memory, etc
+
*[http://www.ragingmenace.com/software/menumeters/ MenuMeters] is a system monitoring, cpu, network throughput, disk, memory, etc.
 +
*[http://www.charlessoft.com/ Pacifist] Look into pkg, dmg, .tar, etc files and pull individual files out.
 +
*[http://wakaba.c3.cx/s/apps/unarchiver.html UnArchiver] A much more capable replacement the built-in archive unpacker program in Mac OS X.
 +
*[http://docs.blacktree.com/visor/visor Visor] a systemwide terminal window accessible via a hotkey, much like the consoles found in games such as Quake
  
 
==Remote Desktop==
 
==Remote Desktop==
−
Intel Users should try [http://cord.sourceforge.net CoRD] and PowerPC users should try [http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.aspx?pid=download&location=/mac/download/misc/rdc_update_103.xml&secid=80&ssid=10&flgnosysreq=True Microsoft RDC]. You can also install rdesktop in [http://rdesktop.darwinports.com/ darwinports] or [http://pdb.finkproject.org/pdb/package.php/rdesktop fink].
+
*[http://cord.sourceforge.net CoRD] Cocoa OSS client for Intel.
 +
*[http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.aspx?pid=download&location=/mac/download/misc/rdc_update_103.xml&secid=80&ssid=10&flgnosysreq=True Microsoft RDC] MS client for PPC.  
 +
*[http://rdesktop.darwinports.com/ rdesktop] in DarwinPorts
 +
*[http://pdb.finkproject.org/pdb/package.php/rdesktop rdesktop] in Fink
  
−
[http://sourceforge.net/projects/cotvnc/ Chicken of the VNC] is the standard VNC client and there is also a nice [http://www.nomachine.com/download-client-macosx.php NX] client.  
+
*[http://sourceforge.net/projects/cotvnc/ Chicken of the VNC] Cocoa VNC client
 +
*[http://www.nomachine.com/download-client-macosx.php NX] FreeNX client
 +
*[http://www.apple.com/remotedesktop/ Remote Desktop] from Apple
  
−
==Running Windows==
+
==Windows==
−
You can try virtualization ([http://www.parallels.com/ Parallels], [http://www.vmware.com/mac VMWare]), native install ([http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/ BootCamp]) or a hybrid ([http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/ CrossOver]). If you do a lot of hardware or graphics intensive work, you want to use Windows natively. If you need a full fledged Windows install try virtualization. If you only have one app and it's supported by Crossover, then use that.
+
*[http://www.parallels.com/ Parallels] Popular virtualization solution
 +
*[http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/ BootCamp] Boot a native copy of Windows
 +
*[http://www.vmware.com/mac VMWare] Currently in beta.
 +
*[http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/ CrossOver] Provides a Win32 API for some apps
  
−
If you want know the differences, try this [http://www.notebookreview.com/printArticle.asp?newsid=2990 Guide for Choosing Boot Camp or Parallels to Run Windows on an Apple MacBook]
+
If you do a lot of hardware or graphics intensive work, use Bootcamp. If you need a full fledged Windows install try Parallels. If you only have one app and it's supported by Crossover, then use that. If you want know the differences, try this [http://www.notebookreview.com/printArticle.asp?newsid=2990 Guide for Choosing Boot Camp or Parallels to Run Windows on an Apple MacBook]

Revision as of 05:56, 17 December 2006

This list are the applications that most use in CSE. We try to focus on applications that are free, inexpensive and open source. If such applications don't exist, we list the best piece of software in that category. If you want a specific piece of software, try MacUpdate and VersionTracker. You can also send your question to the mailing list.

Text

Coding

IDE

Tex

  • TeXShop is TeX specific any editor is good.
  • LaTeXiT is for embedding quotations in any document.
  • BibDesk is a good bibliography manager.

Graphics

  • OmniGraffle is great for creating posters, graphs and other vector based images.
  • Inkscape is an Illustrator clone and is good for free form work.

Productivity

Note Taking

Browsing

  • Camino is based on the Mozilla rendering engine, but unlike Firefox it is "Mac-y" in nature. It uses Keychain, OS X elements, etc. You can find optimized versions on MozillaZine and extensions at PimpMyCamino.
  • Safari is the standard OS X browser. WebKit is Apple's open source (and often faster) browser engine. Find extensions at PimpMySafari.

If you are using, Camino or Firefox, you'll note that you don't by default have the ability to render PDFs in the browser. If you're running on an Intel mac, you're up a creek without a paddle, switch to Safari if you really need it. If you're using a PowerPC mac then you can download PDF Browser, which basically puts Preview.app into the browsers.

Chat

AIM/MSN/YIM/Gtalk

  • Adium (based on Gaim but pretty) because it's customizable and allows for all the chat protocols in one client. It has medicore file transfer support.

VoIP

IRC

Mail

Mail tends to be more popular because it's easy and simple. Entourage tends to be the reverse of Mail, and Thunderbird sits in the middle.

Calendar

iCal Entourage.

iCal tends to be more popular because it's easy and simple. Entourage tends to be the reverse of iCal but has better Exchange server support.

RSS

  • Vienna is an open-source client that works well.
  • NetNewsWire (both pro and lite) are pretty good too.

PDF

File Transfer

FTP

  • Cyberduck offers good FTP/SFTP support.
  • Fugu are nice but getting old.
  • Fetch works and is free for students.
  • Transmit is nicest of all but not free.

Torrents

General Downloading

Music

Listening

Managing

Making

Video

Watching

Making=

Burning Software

  • Finder has built-in burning.
  • Toast is the burning standard.
  • Burn is a free alternative.

Photos

Navigation

  • LaunchBar gets you instant access to apps, documents, search engines, etc. It's extremely quick, stable and has limited features.
  • Quicksilver is a similar to LaunchBar. It's open source, has a ton more features, but is less stable.
  • Path Finder A replacement for the Finder

Notification

  • Growl allows applications that support Growl to send you notifications. It's generally a useful thing to have installed.

Backup

  • SuperDuper makes a bootable image of your hard drive.
  • Chronosync makes versioned incremental backups of any folder you specify.

Utilities

  • OnyX helps you run system maintenance tasks and configure hidden parameters.
  • AppleJack is a similar utility to OnyX but runs in single user mode.
  • MenuMeters is a system monitoring, cpu, network throughput, disk, memory, etc.
  • Pacifist Look into pkg, dmg, .tar, etc files and pull individual files out.
  • UnArchiver A much more capable replacement the built-in archive unpacker program in Mac OS X.
  • Visor a systemwide terminal window accessible via a hotkey, much like the consoles found in games such as Quake

Remote Desktop

Windows

If you do a lot of hardware or graphics intensive work, use Bootcamp. If you need a full fledged Windows install try Parallels. If you only have one app and it's supported by Crossover, then use that. If you want know the differences, try this Guide for Choosing Boot Camp or Parallels to Run Windows on an Apple MacBook

Retrieved from "http://abstract.cs.washington.edu/wiki/index.php?title=Mac_Users:Suggested_Applications&oldid=6234"