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Suggestions for a New Mac Owner

WayneRash

WayneRash

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 4, 2025
2
2
Manassas, Virginia
I'm looking for suggestions of apps to install on my first Mac that I actually own. I've been using computers, including Macs, for decades, but those have always been test devices, so I was limited as to what I could do with them. But now I went out and bought my very own Mac. So I'd like to hear about some apps that really use the capabilities of the Mac, that might not be obvious to someone who hasn't been part of the Mac universe (although I've been with iOS for years). I already have licenses for most normal productivity apps like MS Office and similar work software. I'm looking for interesting stuff that's uniquely Mac. Your suggestions please. This is a computer with Apple silicon.
 
If you’re using both a trackpad and mouse something like scroll reverser so you don’t have to choose between a backwards scroll wheel or a backwards trackpad. If you’re just using one or the other it’s not necessary.
 
My advice:
Just use it.

... and keep reading the forums here, and a few other places.
talk.tidbits.com

TidBITS Talk

Comments on TidBITS articles, and general discussions about Apple
talk.tidbits.com talk.tidbits.com
is a good place, as well.
 
Checkout Setapp. While it is subscription based, it has a number of very useful apps and overall, for me at least, it's cheaper than subscribing or buying all the apps I use individually.
 
Of the little apps I use, the one I would keep if only one were allowed would be PopClip.

Also, after many years of waiting in vain for Apple to develop Spotlight, I recently installed Launchbar. ime, Spotlight has got quite a bit worse, not better, and I'm very happy with the move.
 
auxbuss said:
Of the little apps I use, the one I would keep if only one were allowed would be PopClip.

Also, after many years of waiting in vain for Apple to develop Spotlight, I recently installed Launchbar. ime, Spotlight has got quite a bit worse, not better, and I'm very happy with the move.
Click to expand...

I ue Alfred instead of Spotlight, and for the ability to create snippets to save typing and keep clipboard history
 
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russell_314 said:
If you’re using both a trackpad and mouse something like scroll reverser so you don’t have to choose between a backwards scroll wheel or a backwards trackpad. If you’re just using one or the other it’s not necessary.
Click to expand...
You don't need to install separate software for that. There's a setting under System Settings > Mouse for "natural scrolling" that toggles it. Unless you're talking about reversing the scroll direction with a trackpad, which would be kind of insane.
 
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ignatius345 said:
You don't need to install separate software for that. There's a setting under System Settings > Mouse for "natural scrolling" that toggles it. Unless you're talking about reversing the scroll direction with a trackpad, which... would be insane.
Click to expand...
That does indeed correct the mouse scrolling direction but it reverses trackpad input as well. At least it did that the last time I checked. It’s possible Apple updated it.

This isn’t an absolutely must have because one can get used to either reverse mouse scrolling or reverse trackpad touch. It’s just nice to have my cake and eat it too 😂
 
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russell_314 said:
That does indeed correct the mouse scrolling direction but it reverses trackpad input as well. At least it did that the last time I checked. It’s possible Apple updated it.
Click to expand...
Oh wow, ok, egg on my face here! I actually have a Magic Trackpad but rarely use it -- just checked and can confirm you're absolutely correct. Setting "natural scrolling" in the Mouse section changes it in the Trackpad as well.

My personal preference for the mouse ("natural scrolling" OFF) also is my preference for the trackpad. I probably set it years ago at this point and literally never revisited it. I thought when you mentioned reversing scroll direction with the trackpad it means reversing everything which clearly was a total brain fart on my end.
 
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ignatius345 said:
Oh wow, ok, egg on my face here! I actually have a Magic Trackpad but rarely use it -- just checked and can confirm you're absolutely correct. Setting "natural scrolling" in the Mouse section changes it in the Trackpad as well.

My personal preference for the mouse ("natural scrolling" OFF) also is my preference for the trackpad. I probably set it years ago at this point and literally never revisited it. I thought when you mentioned reversing scroll direction with the trackpad it means reversing everything which clearly was a total brain fart on my end.
Click to expand...
I was hoping Apple made a change to the setting. Maybe one day they’ll have separate settings for trackpad and mouse.

I think on the Apple Mouse it’s okay because instead of a scroll wheel it’s like a trackpad. It’s not hard to get used to either way but if you go back and forth between macOS and Windows you’ll go crazy 😂
 
russell_314 said:
I was hoping Apple made a change to the setting. Maybe one day they’ll have separate settings for trackpad and mouse.
Click to expand...
I don't know for sure, but I wonder if BetterTouchTool handles this. It's crazy powerful.

russell_314 said:
I think on the Apple Mouse it’s okay because instead of a scroll wheel it’s like a trackpad. It’s not hard to get used to either way but if you go back and forth between macOS and Windows you’ll go crazy 😂
Click to expand...
The only time I have to use Windows these days is when I remote into a PC at work to run one piece of software that doesn't have a Mac version. Fortunately in that scenario the Windows App client seems to respect scroll direction and translate it correctly.
 
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I’ve actually stopped using a lot of third party apps over the years. I now just use the Pages, Numbers and Keynote for most documents. I like Notes as it syncs across all devices. Calendar and Mail are fine as I’m not a high level user of either one.

Keynote has gotten quite good for creating graphics content. I use it a lot just to make single slide posters for myself. You can make a very large slide and then create a time line and add in all sorts of images and clippings. I find this helpful when planning a trip. I paste in all the airline and hotel confirmations, restaurant reservations and menus and other stuff. Keeping it all in one place helps.

I still keep Graphic Converter around for some image formatting and manipulation. I’ve also got the Affinity apps which are very good (Publisher, Photo and Designer).

I think it depends on your level of skill and interest. The default apps have become pretty good. People highly focused on any one area will recommend better versions of Safari or Terminal, Mail, etc.

Whatever your focus is you probably need some apps for that. So I have Final Cut Pro for videos but iMovie is probably fine for casual stuff.

I don’t use them but the Omni family of apps is well regarded by many for various graphics and charting needs.

Freeform is an interesting new app from Apple for collaboration (but you probably already have something like this from MS). It has an interesting flow charting feature I’ve only played with as I don’t need it. We use this a lot in our family for planning events together.

You may want something better for PDFs instead of Preview. If you don’t already have an Adobe license then PDF Expert is highly rated. I use it mostly on the iPad and like it a lot.

You can scan the archives at Macmost.com for ideas about using the Mac. Gary is incredibly prolific at coming up with all sorts of ideas about using the Mac and surfacing little known features.

Hope it goes well for you.
 
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neutrino17 said:
I’ve actually stopped using a lot of third party apps over the years. I now just use the Pages, Numbers and Keynote for most documents. I like Notes as it syncs across all devices. Calendar and Mail are fine as I’m not a high level user of either one.

Keynote has gotten quite good for creating graphics content. I use it a lot just to make single slide posters for myself. You can make a very large slide and then create a time line and add in all sorts of images and clippings. I find this helpful when planning a trip. I paste in all the airline and hotel confirmations, restaurant reservations and menus and other stuff. Keeping it all in one place helps.

I still keep Graphic Converter around for some image formatting and manipulation. I’ve also got the Affinity apps which are very good (Publisher, Photo and Designer).

I think it depends on your level of skill and interest. The default apps have become pretty good. People highly focused on any one area will recommend better versions of Safari or Terminal, Mail, etc.

Whatever your focus is you probably need some apps for that. So I have Final Cut Pro for videos but iMovie is probably fine for casual stuff.

I don’t use them but the Omni family of apps is well regarded by many for various graphics and charting needs.

Freeform is an interesting new app from Apple for collaboration (but you probably already have something like this from MS). It has an interesting flow charting feature I’ve only played with as I don’t need it. We use this a lot in our family for planning events together.

You may want something better for PDFs instead of Preview. If you don’t already have an Adobe license then PDF Expert is highly rated. I use it mostly on the iPad and like it a lot.

You can scan the archives at Macmost.com for ideas about using the Mac. Gary is incredibly prolific at coming up with all sorts of ideas about using the Mac and surfacing little known features.

Hope it goes well for you.
Click to expand...
Avoid using Freeform.
I had my notes gone one day after it crashed and no way to get it back from TM.
 
neutrino17 said:
Wow! Did you report this to Apple? We’ve used this for over a year without incident.
Click to expand...
Same, have been using Freeform (although not super intensively) since it came out, zero issues.

The one thing that does give me pause as @Astrohunter unfortunately discovered is that like Notes it's quite opaque about where it keeps its data -- which makes it hard to back up and hard (impossible?) to recover.
 
ignatius345 said:
Same, have been using Freeform (although not super intensively) since it came out, zero issues.

The one thing that does give me pause as @Astrohunter unfortunately discovered is that like Notes it's quite opaque about where it keeps its data -- which makes it hard to back up and hard (impossible?) to recover.
Click to expand...
Yes I only use their apps/services that can be backed up and restored.
Good luck restoring all your work from Freeform.
 
WayneRash said:
I'd like to hear about some apps that really use the capabilities of the Mac, that might not be obvious to someone who hasn't been part of the Mac universe (although I've been with iOS for years).
Click to expand...

Install apps through the Apple App Store. Xcode takes about 1.8GB.

But if you need apps that aren’t in the App Store, I suggest installing Homebrew. You can then install any apps you need through Homebrew. That way, when you want to uninstall an app, Homebrew can do it automatically for you. This way, you won’t have all those old apps taking up space on your device.

It's easy to maintain too:

Code: 
brew upgrade && brew autoremove && brew cleanup
 
Last edited:
Jay Tee said:
Install apps through the Apple App Store.

But if you need apps that aren’t in the App Store, I suggest installing Homebrew. You can then install any apps you need through Homebrew. That way, when you want to uninstall an app, Homebrew can do it automatically for you. This way, you won’t have all those old apps taking up space on your device.

It's easy to maintain too:

Code: 
brew upgrade && brew autoremove && brew cleanup
Click to expand...
You need to waste few gigabytes for xcode tools to install it though, and removing them in future is a massive headache.
 
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