What kind of computer user are you? All Apple, in the Cloud or ??

[entatlrg]

I'm curious to hear how other Mac owners have their computers set up.

a) Do you use ALL Apple Software whenever possible? iCal, Apple mail, Safari, iPhoto, iChat, iDVD etc etc

or

b) Do you try and do all your computing "in the cloud" for example, gmail, google calender, picasa, evernote, etc.

or

c) a combo of a) and b).

I'm wondering how many people depend on only Apple's software and if you feel there's a benefit to it over 'cloud computing' or are most people gaining interest and confidence in cloud computing and moving in that direction?

Are there any Apple on online app's that you find particularly useful?

 

[Mal]

D) Whatever works best, including third-party local apps (didn't mention those). I use Apple's apps, I use Google and other cloud apps, I use a ton of third party stuff, and I use all of them very much interchangeably. It's to the point where having 10 most recently used apps stack in the Dock isn't really sufficient, because the program I'm looking for is rarely there (i.e. I've used more than 10 apps since I last opened whatever particular app I'm looking for).

jW

 

[SkyBell]

E) None of the above. I use a lot of third party apps. Not a whole lot of Apple, but not a whole lot of "cloud" computing either. Apple's stuff rarely has what I need, and I prefer to keep my info on my computer instead of the web.

 

[entatlrg]

interesting for sure.... I should of maybe asked what app's everyone does use for the purposes I've mentioned.

 

[Laroosco]

I'm currently doing the mobileme trial until July. I'm checking it out to see how useful it is to me and how much I will use it.

So far it seems a lot easier to use than Google, but only time will tell if I think it's worth $99 a year

 

[SLR2009]

I'd go with C. I use both apple and third party applications.

 

[maflynn]

I'm option D, which for me is what works best. That does mean a predominantly apple software installtion, i.e., iCal, mobileme, aperture etc. I don't use anything google because google is evil.

All in all, I find the solution that best fits my needs and solves the problem. A lot of the time, that just so happens to be an apple application but not always. For instance, I prefer NeoOffice over iWork. RapidWeaver over iWeb, etc.

 

[mobilehaathi]

I find your options severely limiting.

On any given day I use:

Firefox
gmail + cal
iTunes
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Acrobat
O
iWork
Papers
Terminal
emacs
g++
perl
any of a number of other command line programs

 

[macgrl]

A combo of a and b plus a 3rd party apps

 

[kid rock]

I use all apple software with MobileMe, that way i get the best of both worlds!!

 

[arkitect]

I find your options severely limiting.

Agreed.

Today I have used:
Rhino 3D;
Adobe Illustrator;
Adobe Photoshop;
Maxwell Render;
Little Snitch;
Firefox;
Apple Mail;
Apple iTunes;
Adobe Acrobat;
Skype…

Only Apple software so far (apart from OS X) is Mail and iTunes.
There is nothing Apple offers me to earn a living — and with Windows 7 looking half decent I may have even less use for Apple, apart from a disturbing loyalty legacy to a company who owes me diddly squat.

Can't quite see myself switching to Cloud computing just yet.

 

[macgrl]

I am not a great fan of cloud computing. I like the idea of having everything actually on my computer so that I can access without an internet connection. I can see the advantages of cloud computing so that you can access you information no matter if you have you own computer with you or not. I use me which is cloud based but then that is sync'd with my mac so that I can access it offline. The best of both worlds I think and it works for me

 

[i4k20c]

i think "dropbox" is the best implementation of cloud program to date..

you have a copy on your hdd as well as on the web.

and the thing i like is that you have a ACTUAL folder on your computer, so no logging in, uploading, etc.. simply drag and drop and ure good to go.

 

[tekio]

What ever works best & I rarely use services like gmail or evernote.

 

[GITANAJAVA]

I'm curious to hear how other Mac owners have their computers set up.

a) Do you use ALL Apple Software whenever possible? iCal, Apple mail, Safari, iPhoto, iChat, iDVD etc etc

or

b) Do you try and do all your computing "in the cloud" for example, gmail, google calender, picasa, evernote, etc.

or

c) a combo of a) and b).

I'm wondering how many people depend on only Apple's software and if you feel there's a benefit to it over 'cloud computing' or are most people gaining interest and confidence in cloud computing and moving in that direction?

Are there any Apple on online app's that you find particularly useful?

A very timely question, Entatirg! For my own edification, I hope more people will respond; I'll follow other Mac users' responses about their favourite Cloud Computing functions with great interest.

Throughout eight years of Mac-nificence, I have been founder and senior partner of a small marketing and strategy consulting firm, so I should offer the disclaimer that our computing choices reflect: (i) aspects unique to our profession/industry; (ii) the need to give clients and colleagues easy, simple, and secure access and collaborative input; (iii) the road warriors' need to "travel light" (no desk jockies here); and (iv) all the partners are inveterate, expert Wi-Fi/laptop users.

I'd break down my computing spread as roughly 1/2 Apple, 1/3 Cloud, and 1/6 3d-party Mac-specific apps.

My core applications are Apple (no pun intended) -- most of the iWork and iLife apps, with the exception of Garage Band, Mail, iChat, iCal, iWeb and iSync. I've used Safari 4 Beta since its debut, customising it with the Pointum tweaks; after experimenting with Opera, Chrome and Firefox, I'm extremely pleased with its speed and features. Heavy-duty user of iDVD, iMovie, Fonts (esp. with international options/characters), Keynote, iPhoto, Bluetooth, and Dashboard. No games, ever.

In the Cloud: Gmail with most of the Lab pimps, plus Google tools like Google Docs (it and , Chat, SketchUp, and a couple others, but not Picasa or the G-calendar. We run our calendars via BraveNet, 1 for special bookings/events and a separate calendar for each partner's business and personal appointments. Although my principal reliance is on iPhoto, I backup every image to Photobucket and Adobe Photoshop Express (useful for clients' blogs and social network postings). Also: Kuler, ColorJack, and Acrobat.com, great as a central fileroom, and for realtime conferencing, screen-sharing, document collaboration, and large file-sending.

Third-party apps include: iStudio Publisher on one of my PB's and The Print Shop on the other PB; a small but potent host of business- and travel-oriented widgets on Dashboard; DeskTopple as a Dashboard tweak; the aforementioned Pointum tweaks to Safari 4; Adobe Air (auto-loads with apps like Acrobat.com); VLC and Flip4Mac to complement QT; Google Notifier; Color Schemes; Stuffit Expander; Quicksilver; and with a LaCie eternal hard drive used for backups and special projects, Silverkeeper; and finally, 7 or 8 of the productivity apps described/listed at http://mindreap.com/2009/05/28/10-mac-software-apps-for-increasing-productivity/.

 

[yoak]

I´ve started to use the iDisk more and more to send large files to people.
The Cloud that´s MobileMe is a life saver for me.
I lost my iPhone and for a couple of months I didn´t have the syncing of mail and calendars. It was a nightmare and even lost me a job.
As a freelancer, for me it´s vital to have my calendar infront of me when people call about jobs.
As I´m mostly on location when that happens, it´s very important that my phones calendar is up to date so I don´t double book etc

 

[GITANAJAVA]

I´ve started to use the iDisk more and more to send large files to people.
The Cloud that´s MobileMe is a life saver for me.
I lost my iPhone and for a couple of months I didn´t have the syncing of mail and calendars. It was a nightmare and even lost me a job.
As a freelancer, for me it´s vital to have my calendar infront of me when people call about jobs.
As I´m mostly on location when that happens, it´s very important that my phones calendar is up to date so I don´t double book etc

Yoak: excellent point about syncing one's iPhone/cellphone calendar! On those occasions when Internet access is either unavailable, forbidden, or inconvenient to the haste of the moment, having one's calendar ready-set-go in the palm of your hand is indispensable for taking advantage of an unexpected opportunity. The one brief occasion I mislaid my cellphone, it was a relieft to know I could Bluetooth every event, appointment, and note from our web calendar via my PB G4 to the replacement phone: Cloud Computing with a silver lining! ;-)