Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

New to MACs.. required software?

G

gregd33

macrumors member
Original poster
May 3, 2011
68
8
Being that the machine my wife is picking up today is my first ever Mac, I am wondering if there are some apps that the veterans deem required?

For example, on a PC you should really install:

VLC Player
7Zip
Browser of choice
Flash and Reader (though I dislike Adobe products)
etc...

Are there similar types of apps or utilities that should be on my 'to download' list?

Thanks... and be gentle with this newbie. :)
 
Honestly, leave everything as is out of the box unless you need extra software. I've found that the best web browser is Safari and the best email program is Mail. I used to have Photoshop, so if you need an all-around digital art/photo/graphic design tool, get Photoshop. If it's just for photos get Aperture. Apple made applications usually run the smoothest on Mac.

So basically, unless you really need to install more software just rely on what it brings out of the box.
 
Essential Apps

Adium - best IM client on any platform, IMO
VLC
iWork
Springy - WinRAR for OS X, basically
 
gregd33 said:
Reader (though I dislike Adobe products)
etc...)
Click to expand...

Preview works fine for PDF files. I dont have the adobe reader installed anyway and I can read and print pdf files just fine.

I dislike the recommendation threads; they are enormous. Why not just try using what's installed and see what is missing and then install that based on what you need.
 
gregd33 said:
Being that the machine my wife is picking up today is my first ever Mac, I am wondering if there are some apps that the veterans deem required?

For example, on a PC you should really install:

VLC Player
7Zip
Browser of choice
Flash and Reader (though I dislike Adobe products)
etc...
Click to expand...

I actually hate VLC on the PC. I use MPC-HC(media player classic Home Cinema) plays everything, had GPU acceleration LONG before VLC and alot of flexability. I use it on both of my HTPC's.

In terms of required software that all depends on you. Nothing is required.

My list is:
winrar
transmission
unison
remote desktop connection
Microsoft office
steam
chrome
flash and java
dropbox
macpar deluxe

My favorite widget is tv forecaster

I'm sure i'm missing a ton of things
 
Last edited:
What I use are....

Handbreak
VLC
Neo office (unless you want to spend money on similar products)
Thunder bird and firefox
VLC converter if you want to convert files from youtube.

and these are free.

And of course, plants vs. zombies.
 
VLC, Stuffit Expander, a browser other than Safari (like Firefox or Chrome), and that's really about it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back