Best apps to download for Mac after using pc 15+ years

[dillytheturtle]

Just like many users, I too am waiting for the new macbook pros to come out. I have been a windows user for 15+ years but I'm going to the Apple OS as soon as the new laptops come out. Now in saying that, what are some necessary apps that I should download or steps I should take to facilitate my transition to a Mac? I am also a student (biology major) so what are good apps for students?
Lastly, what are your favorite and best apps to user in general for the Macs?

 

[leman]

It really depends on what you do. If you are biology major, then probably you work with statistics. My list of must-have software for students who want to take advantage of their computer includes MacTeX, TextMate 2, R and Terminal

 

[maflynn]

What are you looking to do?

There are many applications available, but without knowing what you're trying to accomplish its hard to recommend much.

Here's some of my favorite apps
Carbon Copy Cloner - great for backing up your system
MS Office - the gold standard when it comes to office apps
Photoshop - The major photo editing app
Lightroom - Great DAM tool to manage my photos.

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

For finances, Banktivity (formerly iBank) - But there are others. This is the only one that would connect to E*Trade Bank
Like others have said, MS Office
Firefox - some web pages just don't like Safari, but in the 9 years I've been using a Mac, this has gone down
OneDrive - Since I have 4 Macs and iPhones and 1 PC, using this makes storing files a lot easier across the cloud
macOS Server - when you get that second Mac, just for Time Machine backups across the network
iCloud Storage - Makes sharing photos easy
Apple Mouse 2 - I just like having a mouse to go along with the trackpad
Family Sharing - This way, the kids can still spend your money, Actually, it's a nice way to share app purchases and Apple Music with the family. Well, at least 5 of them.

I know you said that you are a biology major, but there are some fun games for the Mac too:
X-Plane - works on both a Mac and a PC
Lord of the Rings Online - Warcraft works too, but I like the story of LoTR
The Civilization games

 

[2ilent8cho]

Text wrangler as a notepad replacement, nice little text editor.

 

[Fishrrman]

Tell us what apps you use NOW on the PC side of things.
Then folks here will point you towards possible equivalents on the Mac side.

I, too, recommend CarbonCopyCloner for making bootable, cloned backups.
I recommend it over Time Machine (which I have never used), and this is my opinion only.

It's good to have two or three "backup browsers" around. I use:
- Firefox
- Epic Privacy browser (can hide your IP address via proxy if you wish)
- iCab
Aside: I would avoid Chrome.

Are you an MS office user? Then consider MS Office for the Mac.
If all you need is "casual access" to MS-created docs, the free LibreOffice suite of apps work well enough.

I WOULD NOT recommend buying an Apple mouse or an Apple keyboard. Apple hasn't made good input devices since they started using USB.
You can keep using what you use now (if they're USB).
There are plenty of 3rd-party USB keyboards and mice that are SUPERIOR to anything Apple offers (Apple input devices seem to be designed more "for style" than "for function").
I use Logitech mice -- probably will never switch brands because they're so good.

 

[wickedpapercut]

LibreOffice -- give it a try before shelling out $ for MSOffice. Compatibility has been pretty good for my purposes.
SuperDuper -- another backup tool, very comparable to CarbonCopyCloner.
FireFox -- I like it better than Safari as the default browser.
Fotor -- free photo editor if you don't need a ton of features.
1Password -- this password manager is outstanding... well worth the price.
HandBrake -- for video conversions.
Evernote -- cross-platform note keeping tool - difficult to describe but quite useful.

That should get you started.

 

[RUGERMAN]

Tell us what apps you use NOW on the PC side of things.
Then folks here will point you towards possible equivalents on the Mac side.

I, too, recommend CarbonCopyCloner for making bootable, cloned backups.
I recommend it over Time Machine (which I have never used), and this is my opinion only.

Never used it? How can you form an opinion if you have never tried it??

 

[2ilent8cho]

Forgot Wineskin, i use it lots to play old games and some apps that are Windows only on my Mac.

 

[Michael Anthony]

Transmission for torrents.
Handbrake for movie encoding/DVD ripping.
VLC for playing video files.
Firefox for web browsing.
VMWare Fusion if you want to run other operating systems side by side (VirtualBox is free though.)
EasyFind works better than Spotlight in many cases.
Carbon Copy Cloner if you need to create bootable clones of your hard drive.

 

[ApfelKuchen]

I'm more of a "don't buy until you try the free stuff that comes with the computer" kind of guy. Operating systems come with all sorts of included software, and MacOS is especially good in that regard.

Your Mac will come with Pages, Numbers, and Keynote - Apple's approach to Office - it's very different - you may like it, you may not, it may do all you need it to do, or not. I have TextWrangler as a "toolkit" sort of thing - opening/viewing/editing certain kinds of files, but if you just need a very basic text editor for writing notes, etc., the built-in TextEdit is just fine. Same for the Photos app, rather than Photoshop or Lightroom - if you're a serious photographer, yeah, but for casual photographers either of those can be overkill. Time Machine is a great backup tool, built into the OS. CarbonCopy Cloner is very capable, too, but it addresses the desires of "serious" backup users, especially people who want a one-piece disk image to restore to a blank HDD. Time Machine works great for the vast majority of people in need of backup. And so on.