Posted October 7, 2009 My macbook just arrived today and besides from typing, I am worse than a headless chicken! Are there any MUST HAVE programs on the mac? atm I need a MSN client, word editor (office or the mac version?), twitter client and any general usability programs. SOOO CONFUSED! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 7, 2009 I used Adium to connect to MSN when I had a Mac, although there is an official version it wasn't too good when I used it. Office for the Mac is better than the PC version according to Microsoft but you could just go for OpenOffice which is free. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 7, 2009 Office for the Mac is better than the PC version according to Microsoft I really doubt that 1) that's true and 2) Microsoft actually said that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 7, 2009 http://www.simonheys.com/wordclock/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 7, 2009 Well the version of office for mac is normally done second so they get the most up to date version as they put it. Can't really recommend anything Mac only. Only mac only program that I'm aware of is coda for web designers. So for a cheap office like experience I would say open office if you have no cash, and star office if you can spare 30 quid. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 9, 2009 I really doubt that 1) that's true and 2) Microsoft actually said that. You got your mac yet then? Or is this based on nothing? I must say for the previous versions (the Mac 'X' version compared to office 2003 for windows) they were basically exactly the same, all the same things just set out a tiny bit differently. I would say that the setup itself was better on mac, but the speeds with which it loaded, and general productiveness was less good than the version for windows. But that's just my opinion. And I've tried out office 2007 for windows but not 2008 for mac so I can't really compare them. Although the years gap in itself would suggest that they would have more time to make the mac version better, despite their focus being mostly on pc. We really might as well have a apple thread again, we're getting to the stage now where we're getting lots of questions about macs etc that might as well be in the same thread. And we're getting people who are coming in just to spam about apple being rubbish anyway (which I seem to remember is why the apple thread was removed) so there isn't much point in keeping them separate. This counts especially when you consider the news thread in general chit chat. Anyway. I would recommend synergy or totaltunes control. Look them up, they're pretty cool. By no means 'necessary' - just for a bit of fun, but I have totaltunes and it speeds me up when I want to play or pause music etc. They cost though I think, so maybe not what you want Other than that Growl is good, useful to alert you to stuff, and free. Spotify and Skype etc are obvious ones. I'll stop now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 9, 2009 (edited) If you're using Safari, you may want to check out ClickToFlash. You might also want to just look through the applications folder carefully to see what everything does (once you get settled you may have use for Terminal, Console, Activity Monitor, and Disk Utility. Also, you may want to look at http://www.macupdate.com. Since you're on a laptop, you may want to check out iStumbler. Also, a few key combinations to remember. Command + Q - Quit Current Program Command + W - Close Current Window Command + Option + Escape - Open the force quit applications window Command + Space - Open Spotlight Most of the others are the same as on windows, but with the command key rather than the control key. Edited October 9, 2009 by Emasher Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 10, 2009 I really don't think Mac Word is better than Windows Word. Bits and pieces seem like they've been deliberately nerfed. Like Mac Messenger which is just shameful and as others have said, Adium is the way to go there. Mac Word is alright though for most uses. I never really got into Apple's version of the Office suite. Also Tweetdeck is an excellent free twitter client. Though I'd also recommend tweetie which is very similar to the iPhone version though is overpriced and only free in an ad-supported mode. Not sure what other free programs to mention but I'd highly recommend keeping an eye out for the next MacHeist. You can get a whole bunch of programs through that for barely anything. I remember there was an audio editing program I wanted for a while that I held off buying because of the price. Last MacHeist I got that audio program and around 15-20(?) other programs (one was world of goo!) for $39 which is a lot less than the audio program normally costs on its own. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 10, 2009 It was my technology lecturer who told me that Microsoft themselves said that the Mac version was better and he's the biggest Windows geek you can get... I've got no idea if its true or not though. I had a quick look but couldn't find anything about it online. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
