What Software Should I Buy?

[boston44]

Hey,
Just got a mac and want to load it up with the newest software. I have a few questions as to what to use. Right now I've got iWork and iLife 08, so I was wondering if I should buy the 09's from apple or eBay... or possibly wait for Snow Leopard hoping they make a box set for the three. Also, what should I use for video editing/movie watching? I'm hearing Final Cut and Front Row, but honestly, I have no idea. Any help is appreciated as to what and where I can safely buy or download these items. Thanks guys.

 

[upinflames900]

Your choice if you update your iWork and iLife now or later but those are a given. For movie editing, iMovie will do any light editing (and I would recommend downloading iMovie HD the older version which offers a lot more capabilities- it is a free download from apple). If you are looking at Final Cut, it would be Final Cut Express unless you are willing to pay over $1,000 to edit your home movies. Toast is another program many people use for making movies, I think it is about $80. iStat Pro (a dashboard widget) is another common one (that is free and on the apple website). If you want to run Windows on your mac, I would recommend Parallels which is around $80 too. If you need to convert a lot of videos, Quicktime Pro is a necessary update and it is $30. Also if you deal in MPEG2 video, you will need the MPEG2 component for quicktime ($20). MPEG Streamclip is a good program for dealing with MPEG2 Video (well any video for that matter and it is free). Handbrake is a must if you have an ipod and want to transfer your DVD Movies to it. It is a free download as well. TubeTV is a good free program to download youtube videos if you want to do that. If you want to copy DVDs (for backup only - dont make illegal copies) you can use Mac The Ripper (but you will need a program like Toast to write them to a new DVD) and Mac the Ripper is free. You will also probably want Flip4Mac which is a plug in to Quicktime allowing you to view Windows Media Video files in Quicktime (it is a free download from Microsoft). Perian is also a helpful plug in for Quicktime that is free. I don't know if that is what you are looking for but thats what i got.

 

[jmann]

I would recommend waiting for snow leopard. What kind of Mac do you have? You should use iMovie HD for editing videos, it is free from apple's site. And for burning dvds toast titanium works great.

 

[dsnort]

AppZapper, remove a program and all associated files, ( or at least, MOST associated files)
Grand Perspective, lets you see what's taking up space on your HD
VLC, media player, handles a lot of different codecs
MacTracker, gives instant data on all different models of Macs, ( not necessary, but can be useful).

 

[boston44]

Thanks guys, I am going to buy toast over final, as well as QT pro. I've got a 2.4 Black Macbook and want to do a little editing, but nothing intense. I want t be able to make and convert videos and projects, and I think I'll wait for snow since I'm running 10.5.6 now.. Thanks again!