I always find it interesting how different people have their
computers set up in different ways and manage to get their work
done with different applications. Most of these users have stuck by
their applications for years, some even keeping their old versions
out of preference. The following are some of the applications I use
often and my opinion of them.
Microsoft Word v.X: While many Mac users use AppleWorks,
which comes with iMacs and iBooks, I find Microsoft Word more
suited for my needs. While it is slower than AppleWorks (but also
remember AppleWorks 6 is almost 4 years old now), it offers many
more features and greater compatibility with other file formats
(even though it seems that .doc is the standard these days). I find
Word X to work fairly well - some annoyances being autocorrect,
auto-spell check, and the automatic linking of web URLs, the first
two of which can be turned off.
Audiocorder:
This is a very useful recording application, which I find useful to
record myself while playing the piano or guitar in order to more
easily observe places in a song where I tend to make mistakes.
Desktastic: This
application basically puts a chalkboard on your desktop- you can
type on it or draw on it in different colors. This isn't so much
useful as it is fun- although it is nice if you need to quickly jot
down a phone number or address.
MacSolitaire: I've
been torn between the alpha release of Eric's Solitaire Sample for
Mac OS X and this much simpler version of Klondike, and I've
decided that MacSolitaire is definitely the better of the two. Not
only are the cards clearer, but it even tells you when you have no
more moves available so you don't keep endlessly searching for what
to do next.
Toast
Titanium: On my computer it probably should be called
"Toast Aluminum," but whatever you call it, it's still an excellent
application for writing and copying CDs. It's much simpler (for me,
at least) than Apple's "drag and drop" solution, which seems to
create CDs that aren't compatible with older OS versions. Not to
mention that Toast offers PC format and hybrid format as options
when you decide to create your CD. For audio CDs, there's Jam, but
I haven't actually used it yet.
Virtual
PC: This has got to be the coolest application available
for the Mac. If a PC application needs to be run or a PC file needs
to be opened, Virtual PC comes in handy. I only have version 5, but
I have yet to have a problem with it. While my version came with
Windows 2000, I decided to use my spare copy of Windows 98 instead,
because it uses less memory and runs faster inside VPC.
Safari/Safari
Enhancer: Thanks to Safari Enhancer, I have switched to
Safari full time. I used Safari Enhancer to import the OmniWeb
bookmarks from my previous machine and to remove the annoying metal
appearance. Safari isn't just fast - it's simple and takes up
little screen space compared to some of the alternatives. Popup
blocking is also very helpful, but I wish Safari wouldn't
automatically smooth some of the fonts as much as it does.
iTunes:
Another great Mac application, iTunes enables me to organize my
many gigabytes of music and view it by genre, artist, and album.
I'm not a fan of playlists; instead I prefer to keep the "browse"
window open and browse songs like I do on my iPod, by artist and
album. I just wish there were an "iTunes enhancer" that would get
rid of the metal appearance. It bothers me how it clashes with the
Aqua interface of the rest of the OS.
Correct Quotes: Not updated since the early 90s, this
HyperCard stack is a compilation of hundreds of famous quotes for
nearly any situation. I find this especially useful when writing
essays. This is one of two applications that I use that only work
in the Classic environment.
Adobe Photoshop 7.0: This one needs no introduction;
everyone is familiar with this as the standard image editing
program for the Mac or Windows PC. I do everything from edit
digital photos from my digital camera to creating custom graphics.
I've heard a lot of criticism about version 7.0, but I haven't
found anything to complain about as of yet.
AOL Instant Messenger
(AIM): I prefer this to iChat,
even though AIM does have annoying ads. I like the buddy profile
feature that iChat does not offer, as well as the buddy list that
shows the status of a user with an icon, not a color. I can't get
used to the "chat bubble" feature of iChat; I found it extremely
annoying. It seems harder to follow who said what in a chat bubble
than in a standard chat window.
Perhaps I am one of the few that don't use the iApps that often,
in fact about the only iApp I use is iTunes. I have no use for
iMovie, and I prefer browsing my pictures with the Finder instead
of using iPhoto.
I was never able to get my PDA to sync with iCal, so I went back to
using Palm Desktop, which I quite like anyway (see Hands On: Palm Desktop 4.0).
I really don't use an email client anymore; I find webmail much
more convenient, and for presentations I haven't really made up my
mind yet. I'm used to PowerPoint, but I recently got Keynote after
hearing its good reviews, and I plan to use it for my next
presentation.
What I would like is a graphing calculator application for Mac
OS X. OS 9 had one, and Microsoft offers one for free
(and it actually seems pretty decent) on it's website for Windows
XP. So where is one for OS X?
Choosing which applications to use comes down to personal
preference. Whether it's Windows, Mac, BeOS, or Linux, there are
many programs out there, and when you find the right one to
complete the task you want it for, you'll know it.
