Comments on: Essential Mac Apps for “Switchers”

By: Bill Shirley

Bill Shirley — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 14:29:43 +0000

Hmm, my mother just switched, and I wouldn’t suggest any of those for her. Maybe the VM/Parallels, but Word is all she uses.

I’ve been keeping my eye out for any apps she might want/need, but I think training for the non-techie might be in order. She would be taking the apple store up on their deal ($99/year?) but she’ll be traveling (without a computer) for most of that.

By: Rodney

Rodney — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 12:55:20 +0000

Thanks Mike…I’ve posted a link for my readers back to your post.

By: Rodney

Rodney — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 12:45:58 +0000

Thanks for the post. As you know many business people are making the switch to Mac. Here is a list of helpful applications for the business user http://www.askbigpapa.com/articles/371/0/How-to-use-Mac-Computers-In-Everyday-Business-a-The-Ultimate-Guide-/Page0.html.

By: Rick Cross

Rick Cross — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 05:45:21 +0000

Mozilla Thunderbird. If you used Outlook on XP, and expect a full-featured email client on OS X (which Mail.app is not), then you’ll find Thunderbird has what you’re looking for. And it’s free.

- http://en.www.mozilla.com/en/thunderbird/

By: TBM

TBM — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 01:49:51 +0000

#1 QT ahs done great for me! I haven’t needed anything else for many years now.

#2 A web interface has been fine for me. Or finder if absolutely needed.

#3 I don’t have much use for IM or Chat.. so no comment except that I have used iChat for three way video conferencing with family members.

#4 I use it and find it very useful.

#5 I use parallels and it is great! Although if you can use bootcamp then that is cheeper.

#’s 1..3 not necessary for me and #’s 4,5 are well worth it.

TBM

By: TPFolair

TPFolair — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 01:18:28 +0000

I think Adium is a solid program but I always come back to iChat for its video/audio support.

By: jadedcritic

jadedcritic — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 20:06:34 +0000

Scratch that, I know what I would suggest for “switchers”. The OSX version of the missing manual.

http://www.amazon.com/Mac-OS-Leopard-Missing-Manual/dp/059652952X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202241787&sr=1-1

It’s full of little things that drove me nuts for a long time. For the longest time I had no clue what Expose was, or what it was supposed to accomplish, or why I would ever want to use it. That’s why I rather liked that book, it doesn’t just tell you about the features, it also talks a little bit about how or why you might want to use them.

I wouldn’t spring it on a brand-new switcher you might scare off, if only because it’s a thick book/spider-squasher. However, if someone’s been around for a couple months, and has unanswered questions, it’s a great reference.

By: eric

eric — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 19:36:09 +0000

I recently moved to the mac but from Ubuntu linux, and I don’t need or want any of those apps (with the possible exception of Adium). What I have found indispensable is an RSS reader: vienna or netnewswire. I use macports for the extra cli stuff and vim.app. Neooffice and Lyx will probably get some use although I haven’t really gotten around to using them.