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best software for mac

M

mingspace

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 23, 2006
86
0
Of course software is dependent on what you need it for but what do you think are the best programs for mac? Here's my list...

Design:
Adobe Creative Suite 2.3 (Photoshop, illustrator, imageready, etc)

Web:
Adobe Flash Professional 8
Adobe "Part of Studio 8"
Macromedia Dreamweaver 8
Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional

Video:
Final Cut Express or Final Cut Studio

Music:
Logic Pro 7
GarageBand
Toast 7 Titanium

Utilities:
Norton Antivirus 10 for Macintosh
Parallels
 
You don't need Norton for a Mac.

I don't even understand why Norton even makes an Antivirus for Mac.

If your using Parallels or Boot Camp, you may need a antivirus. There is a free antivirus software called AVG Antivirus, and works fine for me.

But on a Mac there is no need...
 
mingspace said:
Utilities:
Norton Antivirus 10 for Macintosh
Parallels
Click to expand...

Norton Antivirus is the best F'Utility. It surely deserves a new definition in the dictionary - the F word among the software. :D
 
DO NOT INSTALL NORTON ON YOUR MAC!!! :eek:

It will seriously spanner it up.

Also there is no need to install it as there are no viruses for OSX.

As for your question. You are going to get a million different answers because people use their macs for different things.

YAY! 1000 posts for me! :D
 
stuartluff said:
YAY! 1000 posts for me! :D
Click to expand...
n00b ;)

Back on topic, for me it has to be the iLife suite, with RapidWeaver tagged onto the side. Photoshop (obviously), but that's not really a "Mac" app as it exists in it's own ecosystem.

And OmniGraffle I use one hell of a lot and love. Makes Visio look a bit poo :)
 
Intaglio for a drawing application - there is nothing as good in the PC world.
 
you may as well get Macromedia Studio, since it has Dreamweaver and Flash.
 
stuartluff said:
DO NOT INSTALL NORTON ON YOUR MAC!!! :eek:

It will seriously spanner it up.

Also there is no need to install it as there are no viruses for OSX.
Click to expand...

Not true. If you haven't noticed, more people are switching to Macs.

Which means more virus programmers.

You should have virus protection for your Mac, as no OS is 100% safe.(Although you do have a point, you shouldn't install norton.)
 
People use norton to scan files that will be passed on to windows computers for viruses. E.g. I have a word doument with a virus on it that does not affect my OS, but I don't want to send it to my PC that will get ruined with yet another virus.
 
Not Necessary

'Not true. If you haven't noticed, more people are switching to Macs.

Which means more virus programmers.'

I counter: A good designed OS does not need a virus checker at all.

And even if, it is Apple (not Norton or whoever) who has the responsibility to keep the OS safe, any slight possibility of an attack is easily prevented because Apple should and is able to repair the code very quickly, because of clean and structural/moduled coding.

Windows does need a virus checker, because of spaghetti code and a structural wrong design. ( registry, DirectX, wrong permissions. seperation user and system files etc. ). ( In the area of security Vista will be huge improvement over XP )
 
matthew24 said:
In the area of security Vista will be huge improvement over XP
Click to expand...

Thats what they said about XP over '98, I love OSX, and am not and never have been a linux user, but I honestly believe that, although it is not as good as OSX for my needs now, it will in the coming years become the default operating system, partly for security reasons.
 
Cassie said:
Not true. If you haven't noticed, more people are switching to Macs.

Which means more virus programmers.

You should have virus protection for your Mac, as no OS is 100% safe.(Although you do have a point, you shouldn't install norton.)
Click to expand...
That's the theory, and it may not be a bad one. But there is a big problem.

None, I repeat none, of the malware scanners for OS X have proven themselves to be effective against OS X-targeted malware. There simply isn't much of anything out there to test it with. We won't know which, if any, of these companies will effectively deal with OS X malware unless and until there is something real to catch.

A scanner is a good idea for checking files headed out to Windows users so you don't unintentionally pass something along, but that's about it for the time being.
 
While on the subject of viruses, I don't run any AV and really don't want to. Is this a poor decision on my part? Should I run some sort of AV to protect PC users? Why should I install software that isn't needed, but is mandatory software installation after installing Windows for them. If they run a decent AV, then they shouldn't worry. You forgot a page layout program such as Quark or InDesign. AppleWorks is good for many things. No mention of Camino browser (Mac only), much better than Firefox or Safari. There is no 'best', every app has its pros and cons. Every user is different, there specfic needs, the way they interact with their computer, their preferences to how things are done in the application, the list could on. It is personal preference; myself I can't stand Macromedia software. I like Adobe apps, I know Macromedia was bought by Adobe, maybe they can fix it so it is more user friendly. See, opinions and needs will be infinite. It's like asking what is the best car, or best DVD player, or any other product.
 
Cassie said:
Not true. If you haven't noticed, more people are switching to Macs.

Which means more virus programmers.
Click to expand...

So now everyone should now install Norton for Macintosh?

Wow... this thread should be wastelanded for being the 40 billionth on the subject that isn't even worth discussing anyway
 
OK people heres the thing about Norton

It slows down everything to check every little bit of file and network activity, probably makes your computer less secure, all for the sake of protecting other people's PCs. Why would anybody want to waste their money on a piece of garbage utility to protect your computer from something you can't get?

Your basically installing antivirus software on your Macintosh to protect your friends that are too lazy or cheap to put antivirus on their PCs.
 
I couldn't imagine ever putting Norton on a Mac

I've used Norton AV off and on since starting with my 286 PC - and always found it messed everything up - about 5 years ago troubleshooting on a friends machine (and to cut a long story short) - Norton's was the issue.

Ever since .mac stopped their antivirus service a couple of years ago now - I've used ClamXav - just to ease my mind - I know I don't 'need' it. Hardly ever use it - when I do - my system is clean.

Best software for Mac (my bit):

#1 Merlin (couldn't manage my projects without it
#2 Mindmap (so handy during various stages of a project, thesis, etc)
#3 Notebook (I use this to store all my qualitative data - it has this word count facility I think it under-realised)
#4 iMove / QT (I really love these 2 little apps - I'm able to convert my presentations into containable movies for presentations without having to spend all my time playing with the software. In my area - it's all about the work itself - not the technology you use to show it.
#5 Keynote (for the above reason too)
#6 Endnote (not the best - but use it everyday and couldn't work/live without it)
#7 Contribute (managing websites in coordination with .mac couldn't be easier)
 
Cassie said:
You should have virus protection for your Mac, as no OS is 100% safe.(Although you do have a point, you shouldn't install norton.)
Click to expand...
True, no OS is 100% safe... but you should really consider the relative danger of viruses on Macs.

For example, more Mac users have been struck by lightning in the last 5 years than have had their Mac OS X systems infected with viruses. By contrast, a Windows user is more likely to get a virus than get rained on.

So in the scheme of things, Mac users should be more careful of thunder storms than computer viruses... and Windows users should buy (and continuously update) antivirus software before considering carrying an umbrella. :eek:



:rolleyes:

Back to the subject at hand... I personally love Create and OmniWeb. Before any of those other software companies were making software for Mac OS X, their was Create and OmniWeb.
 
Quicksilver
CyberDuck
Quicksilver
GraphicConverter (I'm a pro :D )
ScrollSwitcher (for double scroll arrows top and bottom)
Quicksilver
TransparentDock (a little treat)
NeoOffice (serves my needs perfectly, for free)
Synergy

And Quicksilver ;)
 
EyeTV 2
MacTheRipper
iSquint
Toast
Speed Download
QT, MPlayer, VLC
iWeb
FCP
iDVD/DSP (Depends on how much time I have)

So much great software to talk/think about:D
 
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