[Langdon]

If you were to make sure every person who owned a Mac would have 10 programs (to start with) what would they be. I am revamping my systems and am curious what others feel are the most important programs to have.

thanks

[posthumanus]

i hate to say it but M$ Office 2001:

it's expensive, but you'll not have any more problems communicating cross-platform. none that i've come across anyway.

posthumanus.

[Steve]

i mean, come on, number one would have to be photoshop! it's the mac-daddy of mac applications and screams on macs. but, if you're not into graphics, then forget that and go for a cool game, like deus ex

[Moderator]

I've found the Finder to be the essential app

[Shades of Gray]

Top Ten Mac Programs: (not necessarily in this order)

1. Office 2001 (for cross-platform compatibility)
2. Nisus Writer (for a real writing experience!)
3. FinderPop
4. Eudora Pro + iCab
5. Idea Keeper
6. AppleWorks (this is a Mac after all! )
7. Norton Utilities/TechTool
8. Windows Media Player/RealPlayer
9. Quicken
10. FileMaker Pro

(then Tex-Edit Plus/PageMaker/Papyrus)

[Avenir]

Essential for me:

Program Switcher
Photoshop
Apple Works
MacLink (cheaper than Office when combined w/ AW)
Program Switcher
A running copy of NS 6.2 (oh wait, that doesn't exist)
AIM (college student)
Norton Utilities
Norton Anti Virus (or some anti virus)
Program Switcher

[VRL]

In no particular order:

1. AppleWorks
2. GraphicConverter (Photoshop is nice, but more $$)
3. Virtual PC
4. FileMaker Pro
5. iMovie
6. Adobe Acrobat (full version)
7. BBedit and/or GoLive
8. Roxio Toast
9. Quicken
10. Mac Link Plus

Now Up-To-Date, Fetch, Norton SystemWorks (AntiVirus, Utilities, etc) are helpful also.

There are also a number of freeware apps that are good:

1. Communicator and/or iCab
2. SoundApp
3. WhatRoute
4. BBedit Lite
5. ClearPhone
6. iTunes
7. Eudora

Okay, I'll stop now. I could go on

BTW, some apps are highly overrated and way overpriced. Don't fall into the trap of believing you NEED to get such an app to be productive.

[l008com]

You obtuse peices of flossum. You are all WRONG. Here is the correct list.

0) Finder - duh, but does it count?
1) Mail - Apple's Mail app
2) Omniweb - how hard is it to implement a GUI thats already written into the OS?
3) AIM - If it wasn't for AIM, I'd have to use my ttttttttelephone
4) iTunes or SoundJam - Only one, but which is a matter of taste.
5) Quicktime - By very nature, is not really number 5, but is actually integrated into all items on the list.
6) Hotline Client in a sense, the mother of all software
7) Adobe Photoshop & ImageReady - They come together so they'll share a spot on the list
8) Adobe GoLive - Yeah!
9) Adobe Illustrator - Why I could just draw for hours with it!
10) Dnet Client - I hate to waste unused processor cycles

That is it, those are the 10.
Honerable mentions...

11) Media Cleaner Pro 5
12) Pitbul
13) Claris Home Page - use it right, and its the best at what it does.
14) Adobe Acrobat - Of Coarse
15) SoundMaker - Find it on hotline, its the Bomb@!@
16) My 3 duplicate copies of Hotline Client
17) Surfe.... ehhh... Skip that one...
17) AppleScript/Script Editor - Why do work when you mac will do it for you?
18) Sherlock is alright
19) Napster - MP3 sharing programs in general, all covered by this one item, napster
20) ThePlayer - i made it myself in RB and its f�ck�ng cool as hell! So bite me!

The end.

hey VRL, I HOPE you're not talking about Photoshop?!?!?!?!?!@@@

[ 06-23-2001: Message edited by: l008com ]

[VRL]

Absolutely not! I own and love Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, GoLive, Acrobat, ATM Deluxe, PageMaker.

Actually, I was referring to MS Office (or anything MS).

[Avenir]

Originally posted by VRL:
<STRONG>Absolutely not! I own and love Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, GoLive, Acrobat, ATM Deluxe, PageMaker.

Actually, I was referring to MS Office (or anything MS).</STRONG>

Amen. If AppleWorks can't do it, then I don't need to do it.

[Richard Clark]

This is a rough list with categorys:

Commercial Software

1. M.S. Office 2001
2. Photoshop 6
3. Toast Titanium 5
4. Norton Anti-Virus 7
5. Norton Utilites 6
6. TechTool Pro
7. Filemaker Pro
8. Stuffit Deluxe 6
9. Suitcase 9


Shareware

1. Graphic Converter
2. Color Switch Pro
3. Quicktime 5 Pro
4. Snapz Pro
5. USB Overdrive


Freeware

1. M.S. Internet Explorer
2. Adobe Acrobat
3. Netscape Communicator (Personally I like the mail system in this better than other programs)
4. Okey Dokey Pro
5. iTunes
6. iMovie

I'll leave games to the die hards.

I have a few that I like but there are many others more qualified.

[Neopabilus]

10 apps you need:
1.Photoshop
2.Office
3. Dragstrip
4. Internet Explorer
5. ICQ
6. Carracho
7. iTunes
8. Stuffit
9. Quicktime
10. anything else you like (i.e. Golive, Outlook, Eudora)

[btober]

I absolutely agree with everything that l008com had to say.

[infowarrior]

My 10 Indisposable Mac Apps...in no particular order...i'm not an artist, so Photoshop isn't listed for me as a 'must have' for my needs.

- Netscape Communicator
- Outlook Express (hate m$ but love the interface and a few key features)
- AppleWorks (word process and spreadsheets)
- MS PowerPoint (work requirements)
- TechTool Pro
- FWB Hard Disk Toolkit
- iTunes
- PGP
- Adobe Acrobat (Complete)
- Macromedia Dreamweaver 4 (nicer interface than GoLive)

I've recently made the decision to migrate from Word to Appleworks....it's a slow process, and every now I experience momentary weakness and go back to BorgWare Word....it's still better than the PC version, but it DOES come from MickeySoft....

[schwa]

I'm surprised to see Photoshop on here so much. Yeah, it's a great program, but it's definitely not a *must have* unless you do graphic design. At any rate, here's mine, in no particular order...

Office 2001
MSIE
BBEdit
DragThing
Web Confidential
Limewire
Interarchy
Unreal Tournament
Stuffit Expander
Audion
Fire
FinderPop (if you're using OS 9)

[poocat]

1. stuffit (preferably 6 & the full version)
2. aim (or any other im client)
3. icab/ie (your preference, but i think everyone should have/try both)
4. a-dock (app switcher/dock that i really, really like)
5. office 2001 (for windows compatibility/general usefulness)
6. itunes
7. eudora
8. toast 5
9. usb overdrive (if you want a scroll wheel/multibutton mouse... if not... bbedit lite)

now note that these (w/ the possible exception of bbedit if you choose that) are not purpose specific software, and should be useful/necessary no matter what you're up to. if you've got specific ideas in mind, then there are others (photoshop/flash/director are what i'm thinking of, but imovie/fcp2/protools/digiperformer fit just as well) that are absolutely essential. but this is the list of stuff that's on any mac i use no matter what i use it for.


poocat.

[VRL]

Originally posted by poocat:
<STRONG>
5. office 2001 (for windows compatibility/general usefulness)

poocat.</STRONG>

Wouldn't it be nice if PC users concerned themselves with compatibility (for a change). Why is it that we always need to take this initiative?

BTW, MacLinkPlus has yet to fail me Definitely worth having.

[Aussiemac]

Originally posted by posthumanus:
<STRONG>i hate to say it but M$ Office 2001:

it's expensive, but you'll not have any more problems communicating cross-platform. none that i've come across anyway.

posthumanus.</STRONG>

Appleworks 6.2, you don't need M$office any more.
I hate MICROSOFT.

[schwa]

Originally posted by VRL:
<STRONG>

Wouldn't it be nice if PC users concerned themselves with compatibility (for a change). Why is it that we always need to take this initiative?
</STRONG>

Becuase we comprise about 5-6% market share, that's why.

[VRL]

schwa ... That's just an excuse for some PC users to be lazy/indifferent. One day, the tables will be turned

And yes, AppleWorks keeps getting better!

[chris v]

Just ten?

1. Photoshop 6
2. Illustrator 9
3. iCab
4. Eudora
5. Suitcase
6. TechTool pro
7. Toast
8. iTunes
9. Quicken 2001
10. a pirated copy of Word 5.1

Other stuff I'd hate to live without:
Stuffit Deluxe
Dnet client
Acrobat
Streamline
Quark 4.1
Now Up to date & Contact
Simple Text

CV

[rambo47]

Add to your lists of essentials Yuriwho's driver for WaveLAN cards for OS X and older PowerBooks!

&lt;this message sent on a Wallstreet PowerBook, Orinoco Silver WaveLAN card,
and said driver running smooth as silk under OS X&gt;

[WillyB]

In no particular order...

1. Conflict Catcher
2. Grammarian
3. TechTool Pro
4. SoundApp
5. D�cor
6. AppleWorks
7. GraphicConverter
8. Retrospect
9. Action Utilities
10. Burning Monkey Solitaire ][
and....

11. KeyCaps! (see #5 above)

[NickKohn]

1) Norton Utilities - your best friend when problems come up
2) e-mail - take your choice of program
3) MS Office 2001 - best software to come out of Redmond
4) iTunes - kills boredom
5) Adobe Acrobat - must have
6) Adobe Photoshop - makes even your girlfriend pretty
7) Toast Titanium 5.01 - backup, music, etc
8) AOL Instanst Messanger - watch your long distance bills go down
9) NCSA Telnet - umm, telnet...
10) Rogue Spear - for all your killing needs

[Jeff75]

Here are my top 10:
1. MS Office 2001
I hate M$ as much as anyone but the AppleWorks spreadsheet program is just not comprehensive enough. I do financial models and AW just doesn't cut it. Also, I understand that the AW word processor isn't as comprehensive as Office 2001 Word although I don't do heavy duty word processing in it - I use Quark. By the way, I think the M$ Mac team did a great job with our Office 2001. I get a real kick out of these huge, expensive M$ ads for the new Office XP. They talk about features WE in the Mac community have had for years! Windows is just getting them now. If only the 95% majority knew.

2. Internet Explorer 5 - hey, I like it. It just goes to show that when M$ wants to, it can put out a good product. Browsers are really a matter of taste.

3. Copy Agent - this is GREAT! It backs up everything I need to any place I tell it automatically. No more worrying about losing my crucial files.

4. Adobe Acrobat - Essential, I like the pro version you have to pay for

5. Disk Warrior - made my computer fly like new. Was actually able to fix things that Tech Tool couldn't. Finally, a disk utility that actually works.

6. Stuffit Deluxe - compress & decomress files in any format, even for Widoze folks.

7. Virtual PC - handy for my financial software and running any programs that your PC friends may give you to try (even though they usually suck)

8. Toast - latest version. What's the fun of a great Mac if you can't make a good CD? I suppose you could substitute iTunes if your computer's hardware works with it. My old beige G3 MT 300 still works great.

9. Illustrator, Photoshop, Quark - If you like to dabble in professional graphics or ARE a pro, these are great. I'd like to learn InDesign, though. Probably better than Quark, but I'm no pro...

10. GoLive - Have some fun with web design. Great integration with Photoshop & Illustrator.

[neutrino23]

Couldn't stop at 10, sorry.
1. Tex-Edit Plus - simply great and the Applescript support improves with each version
2. Graphic Converter - absolutely best shareware of all time
3. Nisus Writer - wonderful for making precision documents
4. iCab + Netscape
5. Default App - great tool for selecting which app opens when a document is double clicked.
6. Adobe Acrobat
7. Stuffit deluxe
8. Toast
9. MacLink Plus
10. File Maker Pro - using this more and more
11. Action Files - can�t believe Apple didn�t buy this and make it standard in OS 9.
12. email - currently use Musashi, Powermail looking better all the time. Cyberdog was the best.
13. DeltaGraph - excellent, professional plots
14. Coaster - great freeware audio recorder and it is scriptable by Applescript!
15. DeskPop - see what and use what is on your desktop from the control strip
16. Drawing - currently use ancient SmartSketch, need to move up to soemething newer.
17. Appleworks - mostly for the spreadsheet, Mariner is an interesting alternate spreadsheet.

AppleScript and Quicktime should be mentioned though you don�t need to buy them.

[Richard Yensen]

Help! Where do I get this much needed driver?

Originally posted by rambo47:
<STRONG>Add to your lists of essentials Yuriwho's driver for WaveLAN cards for OS X and older PowerBooks!

&lt;this message sent on a Wallstreet PowerBook, Orinoco Silver WaveLAN card,
and said driver running smooth as silk under OS X&gt;

</STRONG>

[Jerommeke]

1. GraphicConverter
2. MacLinkPlus
3. MS Office
4. Acrobat
5. Stuffit
6. Audion
7. Gauge PRO
8. PandoCalendar
9. Norton Utilities or something like that
10. Norton AntiVirus

[rjenkinson]

• mac OS X 10.1
• office 2001
• photoshop & image ready
• go live
• fire
• itunes
• maclink plus
• unreal tournament
• toast
• internet explorer

-r.

[Patrick James]

Hi

My top ten would be:
[list=1][*]Nisus Writer - for word processing/text editing, HTML writing, database cleaning etc. etc.
[*]Nisus Email- which allows you to use Nisus Writer for emails as well, or any other text editor.
[*]GraphicConverter - which I use for all my image stuff.
[*]iCab - lovely accurate web browser with many handy abilities.
[*]AppleWorks - with an excellent database, useful drawing and handy spreadsheet.
[*]Transmit - my fave for FTP.
[*]Nisus MailKeeper - GIA text storage system in which I keep all URLs and various text items.
[*]File Buddy - indexing the entire hard drive with Sherlock has never made sense to me when with File Buddy I can select a volume or folder and just search its contents.
[*]SpellCatcher - checks spelling as you go no matter what app. you're writing in.
[*]Remember? - appointments etc. are all looked after for me by this excellent and highly customise-able organiser.[/list=a]

[fisherKing]

ten, eh..? in no particular order:

1.conflict catcher
2. techtool pro
3. photoshop (duh)
4.itunes
5.amico (extension to customize menu)
6.window monkey (for the window access on the menubar)
7. resedit!!!!
8.icWord (read & print Word docs...w/o buying Word)
9.limewire
10. toast titanium

i use a lot of other apps, but these seem pretty general...

i work on a pc, but live on my mac!

[FormerLurker]

Action Files
USB Overdrive
CopyAgent
FileTyper/GetInfoPro
textSOAP
Norton Utilities/TechTool/DiskWarrior
AirPort + USB Printer Sharing (if you have 2 Macs)

Communicator for e-mail
IE for browsing
AIM
AppleWorks for general stuff
iMovie & iTunes for iStuff
Office 2001 for compatibility with the sheep
The Adobe Gang - Acrobat, GoLive, Photoshop/ImageReady, Illustrator, PageMaker
BBEdit Lite
Fetch 4
Palm Desktop (I don't have a Palm but it's a great Organizer on its own)
FileMaker Pro
Virtual PC for testing FileMaker Pro databases in Windoze
Toast

[OldManMac]

Must haves; not in any order

1. Office X (coming Nov. 19)
2. Photoshop 6
3. Disk Warrior
4. Toast 5
5. Quicken
6. Adobe Acrobat (full version)
7. Internet Exploder
8. Stuffit Deluxe
9. Limewire
10. FileMaker Pro

[philzilla]

what!? nobody's mentioned Flash or Fireworks yet? i only saw a brief glimpse of Dreamweaver too.

i live there, i need them.

[Cipher13]

AppleWorks 5
Toast 5
PhotoShop 6
Final Cut Pro 2
ICQ
AIM
Hotline
Audion
Peek-A-Boo
Super ResEdit!!!

[RWoelk]

They are all pretty much covered here, save but one.

Casady & Green's SpellCatcher 8** is my most important and cherished application to date. Interactive pop-up spell checking here, there and everywhere in any application with the best damn thesaurus and dictionary I have ever seen. It's the only thing that keeps me from moving to OS X permanently.

[ 10-28-2001: Message edited by: RWoelk ]

[tinrib]

• Dragthing
• Stuffit Expander
• DiskWarrior
• Power Windows
• BeHierarchic

These apps belong on *EVERY* mac, regardless of what it's used for.

[DocWest]

graphicconverter
resedit
bbedit
stuffit
itunes/audion/soundjam/whatever
interarchy
appleworks (either 6.2 or 5 w/ maclinkplus)
scripteditor
icab/ie
some kind of email checker

[zac4mac]

1. Photoshop - any rev, newest is best.
2. Graphic Converter - right behind it, kicks PS's butt for organizing, previewing, batch converting.
3.Disk Warrior - don't leave home without it.
4. Tech Tool or (ick) Norton's
5. A browser. I prefer Netscape, but that's cause it's got my mail passwords and I don't remember them.
6. Quicktime Pro
7. Toast 5
8. Sherlock
9. Thermograph - plots temps on both processors and has a calibrate setting.
10. DNETC (RC5) get crankin'
11. M$ Office (I'm a pragmatist, surrounded by sheeple)
12. SoundJam/iTunes2
13. Klondike or Snood for a quick break
14. Halo - hopefully before I die of old age.

[caifara]

the order is not important, I use them all very much, and most are too different to order. Here they come:

• itunes
• soundapp
• resedit
• netscape 6.1
• stuffit expander
• hate to say: office 98
• quicktime player
• limewire
• ICQ
• deus ex

[Kestral]

These are the apps that are most important to me, in no particular order:

1. Office 2001 - sure, some people don't mind AppleWorks but I like Word, and especially appreciate the raw number crunching power of Excel. Entourage IMO is the best email program/organizer combination out there, which is especially sweet when synched to my Handspring Visor.

2. BBEdit - the ultimate text editor

3. SimpleText - I use the souped up version by version by Alessandro Levi, for some reason I feel most comfortable writing using this text editor (quick and easy), though I've almost weaned myself into BBEdit

4. Logic Audio Platinum - the ultimate digital audio/MIDI application next to...

5. Reason - the ultimate studio in a computer. Word is that Logic Audio 5 will allow me to use the sequencer of Logic to drive the synths of Reason - scha-wheeeet!

6. GraphicConverter - I have Photoshop as well (it was a throw-in a package deal) but I still prefer GraphicConverter. Once again, quick and easy without unnecessary bulk. So far everything I can do in Photoshop I can do in GraphicConverter. It's a wonder people even consider buying Photoshop after using this program.

7. PhotoGrid - if there is to be a such thing as iPhoto, surely a lot of the features and implementations would derive from this wonderful little gem. PhotoGrid is to iPhoto as SoundJam is to iTunes.

8. iTunes - this one speaks for itself.

9. Aimster - I can't get Limewire working properly or MacSatellite either. Whereas with Aimster, it's not that different that using Napster.

10. MacMame - I'm not into most modern games, but I love playing those old retro video games, especially Altered Beast, Galaga and Double Dragon!

11. Stuffit Deluxe - this one speaks for itself. Decompresses everything and anything.

12. Filebuddy - another must-have that speaks for itself.

13. DiskTracker - the ultimate CD ROM organizer.

14. Carracho - Hotline is for cheapskates who like to click on banners. Carracho is Mac only too.

15. SoundApp - all purpose audio player.

16. Norton Utilities - enough said.

17. DiskWarrior - when Norton Utilities fails, DiskWarrior saves the day.

18. Norton AntiVirus - I suppose I shouldn't even bother putting this one on, since I haven't had a virus on my Mac since the late 80's(!)

(Ok, this is where I start listing control panels and extensions):

19. TitlePop - this is one of those features that keeps me from going to OS X. This should be the adopted away in quickly and easily accessing different windows and active applications in the background.

20. TaskMenuBar - once again, see above.

There's more but these cover much of the essentials.

[j aske]

1) The Mac Business Group makes excellent products, clearly better than those made by most of their competitors. And I hate MS products for Windows...they're horrible. I have to edit lenghty legal documents with hundreds of footnotes, and I refuse to edit them on Office XP. 2001 for the Mac is vastly superior...the tool palette makes formatting much easier than XP. That being said, I could NEVER edit these documents in Apple Works. It simple cannot handle complex documents. And Dataviz translation is again useless: formatting is lost.
Finally, I also have to use Excel for some statistical work. I usually use SAS in classes (I'm in a JD/MPH program in case anyone's wondering). But sometimes I have to check the results of hand calculations, and Apple Works cannot meet my needs.
So, I guess I need Office (sorry MS bashers) simply because it is the only software for the Mac that is robust enough for my needs.

2) Graphicconverter
3) Dreamweaver
4) RPN Calculator
5) iTunes
6) Unfortunately, Netscape because BU makes Mac users use it to access information online...
7) iCab because it's good
8) the driver for my Canon Scanner
9) Omnipage
10) Nifty Telnet (BU still uses Pine)

And if you cannot tell, I still use OS 9 exclusively. I have a Pismo 400, with 512 megs ram, but I think OS X is still too slow...I own OS X, but without Office X, scanner drivers, and Dreamweaver, I cannot embrace the new OS...and, I think it sucks on G3s. When I graduate I'll buy a G4 next May and switch (and maybe by then Macromedia will get it's act together). By the way, I hope everyone who can afford it, is actually paying for their shareware...

-Jennings

[VRL]

AppleWorks
FileMaker Pro
GraphicConverter
Quicken
QuickTime Pro
iMovie
Toast Titanium
Stuffit Deluxe
MacLinkPlus
BBedit (lite)

OmniWeb
Norton Utilities/AntiVirus

Adobe Illustrator
Photoshop
GoLive

SoundApp (free)
Netscape
iTunes
Mac Solitaire

Starcraft
Deus Ex
Oni

[JamesKass]

In No particular order:

Internet Explorer
Photoshop 6.0
Soundjam MP
MS Office 2k1
Dreamweaver
FileTyper
TTConverter
VirtualPC
Stuffit/Expander
PDFWriter

(These are the ones I uses on a fairly Daily Basis)