[aux]

I was thinking of getting a 12" powerbook once Tiger is released, but have no experience with OS X or any applications (I have a couple of Linux boxes and a Windows laptop). I checked the " What application do I use if I need to....?" thread: http://forums.macnn.com/82/applications/209787/what-application-do-i-use-if/ and the " Your top 5 (or so) freeware/shareware apps for OS X?" thread: http://forums.macnn.com/82/applications/166751/your-top-5-so-freeware-shareware/, but still have a couple of questions, I apologize in advance if some of them were already answered:

1) I know that OS X has built-in firewall, but I need a GUI to add/remove rules when necessary and I am too lazy to run scripts to do that I guess that some may argue that the default firewall settings are good enough, but I prefer to have more control. I found BrickHouse, does anyone have any experience with it? Also, are there any other (good) firewall front-ends?

2) I don't like iTunes, so what is a good and *light* mp3 player? (I guess that most people like iTunes, but I just don't like it; for comparison Winamp Lite is just fine for me).

3) Any problems with Eudora for OS X?

4) Any recommendations for instant messaging client for ICQ and Jabber?

5) What is a good password manager, preferably one that supports auto fill-in in web pages and other applications?

[larkost]

3. problems? it is not Mail.app or Thunderbird. Try those two first.

4. iChat, it comes with 10.4 and works with both protocols. After that there are Adium and Proteus (note: I like them in that order, and I gave the MacUpdate listing for each, get familiar with MacUpdate or VersionTracker).

5. Keychain, the built in one. Camino, Safari, OmniWeb (and others) support it, as do a whole range of applications.

[threestain]

2. Audion 3 is free (but unsupported) and works similarly to Winamp. You might hate it, but then again you might just love it...

3. Eudora - don't use that unless you really really have to. Due to a man with gun. And a stick. And even then, don't.

4. Audium seconded - fantastic stuff.

5. Keychain is definitely the way forward.

[eyadams]

Ok, enough with the Eudora bashing. Eudora runs fine under OS X. It doesn't integrate as nicely as Mail - I would like better support for the Mac OS X Address Book - but other than that it works fine. I've used it since the Public Beta, when it had to be run in Classic, and have not had any complaints. Qualcomm is pretty good about issuing updates, and the ads in the "free" version aren't particularly intrusive - just a little window you can shove off the side and ignore.

[aux]

Thanks for the responses!

3) Eudora: I've used different Windows versions for about 10 years and never had any significant problems with it. It gets the job well done, at least for me, so if the Mac version works fine, I will just continue to use it, moreover I can get the "paid" version for free through my university.