Commercial Vs Free Apps

[caligula357]

i was wondering if the majority of mac users out there opt for the commercial apps, or the free open source ones.

i've recently switched from M$ Office 2004 to NeoOffice, and it seems to still have most of the main features (and is intel compat aswell)

i also am a keen user of firefox, vlc and adium. all free and function correctly

still use toast though, as i am not aware of any comparable free app of this.

 

[72930]

I use freeware only...although I will definitely buy sixtyforce when there is more compatibility (read: I NEED Goldeneye to run smoothly, 1080 Snowboarding and Yoshi Story)

 

[mad jew]

I don't mind paying for software as a rule. I'm very happy with Office X. However, I feel we have an abundance of free apps out there that'll do an excellent job too. VLC, Handbrake and UNO are just three apps I'd be willing to pay for but are thankfully free.

 

[72930]

I don't mind paying for software as a rule. I'm very happy with Office X. However, I feel we have an abundance of free apps out there that'll do an excellent job too. VLC, Handbrake and UNO are just three apps I'd be willing to pay for but are thankfully free.

If they don't come with 10.5 I will buy iWork '07 and may buy iLife '07...I would have paid for iTunes if it needed to be paid for, VLC and Adium are definitely worth my hard earned money (read: presents and scrounging off my dad). I doubt I would have paid for UNO (although it depends how cheap it would be, as it does make my experience nicer).

 

[mad jew]

Yep, iWork and iLife are definitely on the cards. I'd pay for UNO, but I wouldn't pay much.

 

[3nm]

i love FF, neooffice and adium. i didn't know about vlc/niceplayer so i actually paid for QTP.

in general, i try to use open source apps if possible. but photoshop is one exception, i just can't seem to get used to gimpshop/gimpshop pro. there are also the rare times that i need to use MS office.

 

[72930]

i love FF, neooffice and adium. i didn't know about vlc/niceplayer so i actually paid for QTP.

in general, i try to use open source apps if possible. but photoshop is one exception, i just can't seem to get used to gimpshop/gimpshop pro. there are also the rare times that i need to use MS office.

I use Chocoflop (since this morning) and previously Seashore, but will probably switch to Gimpshop once it is aquafied...

 

[epochblue]

I have a blanket rule about software. If I'm new to a particular type of applications (let's say an RSS reader), then I'll start with the freeware version. In the case of RSS readers, I started with Vienna. If it turns out that I find the app particularly useful or I start running into limitations or I hear about a shareware app that does the same thing, I'll probably try the shareware app.

In my experience, the shareware apps tend to provide a richer experience overall. I switched from Vienna to NewsFire and aside from the inevitable weirdness of re-learning keyboard shortcuts, I think the RSS experience in general has been better.

I found the same was true with AppDelete vs AppZapper and Smultron vs SubEthaEdit vs TextMate, etc etc.

I like to support the shareware devs because they work very hard to provide something useful that's also high quality, but like I said, if I'm unsure (or I can't pay for the shareware program), I'll stick with the freeware until I know more.

 

[caligula357]

well, i've ditched toast titanium and appzapper, instead using burn and appdelete.
(they were not entirely legit )

they all function the same, but without all the pretty animations and boatware.

i might try gimp if they update it so you don't need x11...