Macintosh users Q & A

[BayGBM]

If you own an Intel Mac, you will want to get Mac OS 10.6.  It went on sale today and you can grab it for as little as $29 at BestBuy.  Note, this OS upgrade does not work on PPC chip Macs; you must have an Mac with an Intel processor.  I'm not usually one to jump on the upgrade bandwagon; my 2006 laptop was still running 10.4.  But this upgrade is so polished, utilitarian, and inexpensive I can recommend it with confidence.  I have installed in on my laptop and my MacPro.  You can read reviews of the upgrade here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/27/technology/personaltech/27pogue.html?pagewanted=all

http://reviews.cnet.com/macintosh-os/apple-mac-os-x/4505-3673_7-33676737.html?tag=rtcol;inTheNewsNow

OS upgrades often bring incompatibilities with older application and this one is no exception.  Note the list of incompatibles here:  http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/08/28/apple_snow_leopard_support_problem_software_list_available.html

[ToxicAvenger]

and for the folks that HATE GUIs as much as i do

http://www.linux.org/

[BayGBM]

Repeated from an earlier post.
I’ve received a few PMs on this and related subjects so I thought I’d save myself some time.  If you are new to the Mac (iMac, MacPro, Macbook, Macbook Pro, etc) there are some things every Mac user should have installed that do not come with the computer.  You can download them as indicated.


LimeWire
http://www.limewire.com/
With this program you can connect to the gnutella network and share (download and upload) all kinds of files: music, data, software, porn, etc.  If you file share a lot it is worth getting Limewire Pro


HandBrake
http://handbrake.fr/?article=download
Rip (the same way you rip CDs) any DVD on to your computer hard drive and watch them when ever you want as a QuickTime movie.  Depending on how powerful your Mac is, ripping a DVD can take 10-60 minutes or more.  With this program you can customize your rips.  For example, you can rip an entire movie or specific chapter/scenes from a DVD.  Or you can rip a DVD and include the subtitles (in English or another language).  Or rip the DVD in an audio track other than English; this is great if you like foreign films.  I have dozens of ripped movies on my hard drive.


Google Earth
http://www.google.com/earth/download-earth.html
Travel the country, the world, or even outer space, without leaving your computer


Firefox
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/
I like Safari too, but it’s important to have more than one browser on your Mac—just in case you need to try visiting a site with something other than Safari.


RealPlayer
http://www.real.com/
Download the Free Player—not the 14-Day SuperPass trial.  It’s not as popular as it once was but Real still represents an audio standard that you need to have installed.  NPR, for example, uses Real.


Adobe Reader
http://get.adobe.com/reader/
Read any and all Acrobat or PDF files.  Yes, the Mac comes with Preview, but Reader is more powerful and flexible.


Microsoft Office
Love it or hate it, you simply have to have Office installed.


Flip4mac
http://www.telestream.net/flip4mac-wmv/overview.htm
Import, Export & Play Windows Media on your Mac!  Once installed this program will enable you to open video files you previously could not open (like .avi files) as QuickTime movies.


Toast
http://www.roxio.com/
With this DVD & CD burning software you can manage your (data) DVDs like a pro.  Toast is a commercial program and while I cannot endorse you obtaining it via illegal file sharing, I can’t stop you from doing it either.