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AmigaMan

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 1999
3,644
1
0
When I moved to a Mac early last year, I was afraid it would be a very traumatic experience. Why? Because I was afraid that the software I was used to in Linux or Windows would not be available for the Mac.
But it wasn't traumatic at all. There is an abundance of software available, both open source and pay. These are a few of my favorite...

  • Adium - For IM, Adium can't be beat.
  • Firefox - I like FF more than Safari due to the plugins. Camino is another good browser based on Gecko with a prettier interface but no plugins.
  • Vienna - a good RSS reader
  • Transmission - BitTorrent Client
  • Flip4Mac - allows Quicktime to play .wma and .wmv files.
  • MPEG Streamclip - video conversion software that is very useful for putting movie clips on the web.
  • Seashore - a lightweight raphics editor similar to GIMP but without the advanced stuff.
  • Quicksilver - a very unique way of launching applications and interacting with your computer. I'm still a newb at it, but so far I like it just as an app launcher.

I do wish there was a free file browser built in. The Finder sucks and I don't want to pay for Pathfinder.
 
T

TheStu

Moderator<br>Mobile Devices & Gadgets
Moderator
Sep 15, 2004
12,089
45
91
Originally posted by: AmigaMan
When I moved to a Mac early last year, I was afraid it would be a very traumatic experience. Why? Because I was afraid that the software I was used to in Linux or Windows would not be available for the Mac.
But it wasn't traumatic at all. There is an abundance of software available, both open source and pay. These are a few of my favorite...

  • Adium - For IM, Adium can't be beat.
  • Firefox - I like FF more than Safari due to the plugins. Camino is another good browser based on Gecko with a prettier interface but no plugins.
  • Vienna - a good RSS reader
  • Transmission - BitTorrent Client
  • Flip4Mac - allows Quicktime to play .wma and .wmv files.
  • MPEG Streamclip - video conversion software that is very useful for putting movie clips on the web.
  • Seashore - a lightweight raphics editor similar to GIMP but without the advanced stuff.
  • Quicksilver - a very unique way of launching applications and interacting with your computer. I'm still a newb at it, but so far I like it just as an app launcher.

I do wish there was a free file browser built in. The Finder sucks and I don't want to pay for Pathfinder.
Click to expand...

I use most of those

Adium
Transmission
XSlimmer ($11 for an app that removes all the PPC or Intel code from Universal Binaries, the load times and installed size drop dramatically)
FrostWire (Fork of LimeWire, but loads a little quicker)
FLACer (FLAC to wav converter)
HandBrake (Convert DVDs to any number of popular video files, avi, mov, mp4...)
img2icns (converts .tiff's into .icns files so you can have custom folder and program icons)
Shiira (Free browser that has some interesting features like tab expose)

I used to use Firefox, but it crashed too often for my liking, so I switched over to Safari. I am running Safari 3 Beta right now, but I may switch back to Safari 2 since it locks up every other day or so.
 
Kaido

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
50,865
6,839
136
As far as a file browser, you might give ForkLift a try. It's not free ($30) but it is nice. Also has an FTP client built-in. It's similar to Xplorer2, if you've ever used that on the Windows side of things.
 
Kaido

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
50,865
6,839
136
Here's a general list of stuff I use, stuff I'm trying, and stuff I will be using:

Compression Utilities:
Create Clean Archive (free)
DropCompress (free)
FreeDMG (free)
StuffIt Expander (free)
The Unarchiver (free)

Internet:
1Passwd ($30)
coconutWifi (free)
Colloquy (free) or Linkinus ($20)
Democracy (free)
Digg Update (free)
FileChute ($15)
Flash Player (free)
Google Notifier (free)
ImageWell Xtra ($15)
Inquisitor (free)
Nemo Newsreader ($20) or Unison ($25)
NewsFire ($20)
Paparazzi (free)
SafariSpeed (free)
Skype (free)
STM (free)
TabStop (free)
Tofu (free) & Open front document in Tofu (free)

Multimedia:
Perian (free)
Flip4Mac (free)
HandBrake (free)
Mac the Ripper (free)
Real Player (free)
VLC & VLC Icon Overhaul (free)
XiphQT (free)

Menulets:
Alarm Clock (free)
ByteController (free)
MagiCal (free)
MenuMeters (free)
Meteorologist (free)
Monocle (free)
RSS Menu (free)
Server Siren ($15)

Mouse Utilities:
SteerMouse ($20)
xGestures ($5)

Keyboard Tools:
ControllerMate ($15)
KeyCue ($27)
Keyboard Maestro ($20)
Typinator ($27)

Controller Software:
NuLOOQ Navigator (free)
Wacom Intuos3 (free)

System Interface:
DragThing ($29)
DeskShade ($13)
Desktopple Pro ($17)
Desktop Manager (free)
DockFun ($20)
Growl (free)
Isolator (free)
MenuMaster ($10)
MondoMouse ($15)
OpenMenuX ($10) or FruitMenu ($10)
ForkLife ($30)
SpotLaser (free)
Sticky Windows ($16)
TabMeister ($15)
Todos (free)
Trampoline ($20)

Laptop Utilities:
coconutBattery (free)
UnPlugged (free)
WiFind ($8)

Security & Backup:
Little Snitch ($25)
iBackup (free)
SuperDuper (free basic version, $28 full)
Mozy ($5 a month, upfront pay available for up to 2 years)

System Utilities:
ABMerge.app (free)
AppZapper (free)
Change Extensions (free)
coconut Identity Card (free)
Disco ($30)
MacJanitor (free)
Make Names Web-Friendly
Renamer4Mac (free)
QuickSilver (free)
TapDex (free)
Xclean (free)

Widgets:
Bluetooth Switch (free)
Capture (free)
Delivery Status (free)
Firewall Switch (free)
Image Upload (free)
MD5 (free)
Weather.com (free)

Gaming:
DOSBox (free)
MacMAME (free)
Snes9x (free) & RetroUSB SNES controller ($38)

General Software:
Adobe CS3 Design Premium bundle ($1760)
BodyPaint 3D (see Cinema4D)
Cinema4D ($729 with BodyPaint bundle)
iFlash ($15)
Lightroom ($299) or Aperture ($299)
Missing Sync ($40)
Noise (free)
Parallels ($80)
MemoBlock (free)
OmniFocus ($40)
PainterX ($419)
Pzizz ($50 bundle for both modules)
VueScan Professional ($80)
Zbrush ($489)

Go nuts :)
 
K

kalster

Diamond Member
Jul 23, 2002
7,355
6
81
camino
unison
toast
parallels
fink (for getting all my fav linux apps in mac osx ports)
 
R

randomlinh

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
20,846
2
0
linh.wordpress.com
adium and quicksilver rule

disco is neat, I like it, but people seem to love it or hate it.. heh

Aperture rules, but is quite expensive, and hardware intensive.

I'm going to have to switch to VMWare's Fusion I think to get multi-core support. Gaming is neat in parallels.. but I realized there's no real point since I barely play :)
 
Kaido

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
50,865
6,839
136
Originally posted by: randomlinh
adium and quicksilver rule

disco is neat, I like it, but people seem to love it or hate it.. heh

Aperture rules, but is quite expensive, and hardware intensive.

I'm going to have to switch to VMWare's Fusion I think to get multi-core support. Gaming is neat in parallels.. but I realized there's no real point since I barely play :)
Click to expand...

Parallels said they are going to have multi-core support in the future. They also said they have a big release coming later this year, so maybe that is when they'll release it. I've been really happy with Parallels in the past, plus I like the Parallels interface a lot better than VMware's. But if VMWare has a better product, I may have to switch :D
 
R

randomlinh

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
20,846
2
0
linh.wordpress.com
Originally posted by: Kaido
Originally posted by: randomlinh
adium and quicksilver rule

disco is neat, I like it, but people seem to love it or hate it.. heh

Aperture rules, but is quite expensive, and hardware intensive.

I'm going to have to switch to VMWare's Fusion I think to get multi-core support. Gaming is neat in parallels.. but I realized there's no real point since I barely play :)
Click to expand...

Parallels said they are going to have multi-core support in the future. They also said they have a big release coming later this year, so maybe that is when they'll release it. I've been really happy with Parallels in the past, plus I like the Parallels interface a lot better than VMware's. But if VMWare has a better product, I may have to switch :D
Click to expand...

I was just a bit disappointed in how they jumped to version 3... they implied some of those features would be free and on the 2.x path. I don't want to pay for another upgrade to get multicore support.
 
G

Goosemaster

Lifer
Apr 10, 2001
48,775
3
81
Originally posted by: Kaido
quote:
Originally posted by: randomlinh
adium and quicksilver rule

disco is neat, I like it, but people seem to love it or hate it.. heh

Aperture rules, but is quite expensive, and hardware intensive.

I'm going to have to switch to VMWare's Fusion I think to get multi-core support. Gaming is neat in parallels.. but I realized there's no real point since I barely play :)
Click to expand...

Parallels said they are going to have multi-core support in the future. They also said they have a big release coming later this year, so maybe that is when they'll release it. I've been really happy with Parallels in the past, plus I like the Parallels interface a lot better than VMware's. But if VMWare has a better product, I may have to switch :D
Click to expand...

vmware already has multi core support:D

http://www.vmware.com/products...tes_fusion.html#newrc1

RC1 is out:D
 
D

DnetMHZ

Diamond Member
Apr 10, 2001
9,826
1
81
Parallels
Adium
Quicksilver
HandBrake
Mac the Ripper
Chicken of the VNC (I mostly like the name and the icon)
 
L

Looney

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
21,938
5
0
Textmate is probably 80% of the reason why i use my Macbook. I'm not impress with most of the software that's available for OSX, but Textmate is almost the killer app for me... and wish i could find something similar in Windows (if there is one, share it with me!).

Also, Delicious Library is very very cool. If you have a webcam on your computer or laptop, you can use that webcam to read barcodes on stuff and categorize them. Here's website for it: http://www.delicious-monster.com/

Another good place to find out about the best OSX software would be http://macheist.com/
 
G

Goosemaster

Lifer
Apr 10, 2001
48,775
3
81
Originally posted by: Looney
Textmate is probably 80% of the reason why i use my Macbook. I'm not impress with most of the software that's available for OSX, but Textmate is almost the killer app for me... and wish i could find something similar in Windows (if there is one, share it with me!).

Also, Delicious Library is very very cool. If you have a webcam on your computer or laptop, you can use that webcam to read barcodes on stuff and categorize them. Here's website for it: http://www.delicious-monster.com/

Another good place to find out about the best OSX software would be http://macheist.com/
Click to expand...

woah:Q
 
Kadarin

Kadarin

Lifer
Nov 23, 2001
44,296
16
81
From a moderation standpoint, I'd recommend a sticky for this thread. Some good info in here... :thumbsup:
 
erikistired

erikistired

Diamond Member
Sep 27, 2000
9,739
0
0
Originally posted by: Astaroth33
From a moderation standpoint, I'd recommend a sticky for this thread. Some good info in here... :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

we probably have a windows lover for our mod. :p

as for software:

firefox (duh)
adium - chat
fetch - ftp
dvdpedia - keeps track of my dvd collection
textwrangler - editing websites
istat pro - to watch temps go up when i play wow
clamxav - token antivirus
 
T

timswim78

Diamond Member
Jan 1, 2003
4,330
1
81
Originally posted by: AmigaMan
When I moved to a Mac early last year, I was afraid it would be a very traumatic experience. Why? Because I was afraid that the software I was used to in Linux or Windows would not be available for the Mac.
But it wasn't traumatic at all. There is an abundance of software available, both open source and pay. These are a few of my favorite...

  • Adium - For IM, Adium can't be beat.
  • Firefox - I like FF more than Safari due to the plugins. Camino is another good browser based on Gecko with a prettier interface but no plugins.
  • Vienna - a good RSS reader
  • Transmission - BitTorrent Client
  • Flip4Mac - allows Quicktime to play .wma and .wmv files.
  • MPEG Streamclip - video conversion software that is very useful for putting movie clips on the web.
  • Seashore - a lightweight raphics editor similar to GIMP but without the advanced stuff.
  • Quicksilver - a very unique way of launching applications and interacting with your computer. I'm still a newb at it, but so far I like it just as an app launcher.

I do wish there was a free file browser built in. The Finder sucks and I don't want to pay for Pathfinder.
Click to expand...

It would help other members if you updated your original post with the items that others have listed.

 
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