[archon.thelawgiver]

Backdrop: Archonthelawgiver first attempted to use computers in 1979 but somehow managed to type in the wrong code and subsequentlly crashed the whole University of New South Wales computing system. After fleeing from all things computing he reluctantly went back to computers in the late 1980s then having to suffer under non-Mac publishing software.

Archon has been a Mac user since 1993 when he jumped ship in terror after having to endure numerous Windows 3.1 crashes. His summation of why he loves Macs is that after being tortured by ASCII and then early Windows he finally saw the light…and it was in the shape of an Apple.

Too long ago I promised that as a long term Mac user I’d recommend Mac apps for other users.

Going to my applications folder these are the apps to die for.

For anti-virus protection I use ClamXav a lovely little donationware application that really does the trick. Importantly, it doesn’t take over your system like Norton’s manages to do. Another small application for getting rid of software (including .plists) I recommend AppCleaner which allows you to pick and choose what you want to delete. Like most Mac software it’s easy to use.

For audio I recommend AudioHijack Pro which will allow you to capture any sound coming into your Mac. A real boon for recording incoming internet radio stations or even importing from vinyl. However for vinyl there are some specific apps that I use. That old chestnut Audacity still does the job, likewise another chestnut is Bias Peak (and Pro) are also a goers (albeit a little difficult to get your brain cells around). If you’ve got clicks and pops then ONLY use ClickRepair because unlike SoundSoap it won’t degrade the quality of the recording.

If you want to insert a speech bubble into a jpeg then Comic Life is the ant’s pants. Any newbie can be up and running in no time flat. Speaking of jpegs they sometimes come in weird and wonderful configurations. No problems, just use Graphic Converter. This app will chew the heart out of some questionable Windows’ wrappers and provide you with a clean pic. Just remember to save it into a non-Graphic Converter format when you’re finished.

You know how we always find stuff on the net and we drag it to our desktop, which then leads to clutter. Here’s a solution, why not use iClip which allows you to store the clip (or link) at the side of your window. Mouse over and access the clipping. When you’re finished just quit the app and you can come back later.

When you’re downloading anything at all I always use iGetter. It’s pretty straight forward although you have to do a bit of configuring at first to really get it zinging. And as a piece of advice. At the outset go to Preferences/Acceleration and configure your download speeds. I wouldn’t run it at anything over a connection type of 20 Mb cable/DSL unless your running at a very fast net connection. (To be continued tomorrow )

[archon.thelawgiver]

Browsing the net a Mac user should always use Safari, it really does blow Internet Explorer (windows only) out of the water. For blocking ads the best at the moment is Safari AdBlocker 1.6 and userContentcss (from floppymoose.com). However for plug-ins I recommend Firefox; and Camino is worth a look as well.

For documents there really is so much choice. You can stick with AppleWorks (a poor abandoned application) or it’s successor Pages. There’s also Mellel which if you have anything to do with academia or publishing it really does rock. As a last resort I’d use Office (viz. Word) but Microsoft’s apps are such bloatware. I regularly chose Apple’s Keynote over Powerpoint. However a real standout is NeoOffice. It’s free and much faster than anything Microsoft cranks out.

Coming back to graphics I really do hate iPhoto. It’s either the iPhoto method or nothing else? Not really, why not use Pixelamtor. It lies between Photoshop Elements and iPhoto and the interface really does kick butt.

For backups I recommend SuperDuper! Or you can incrementally fill a hard drive with Apple’s Time Machine (which wastes sooooo much space).

If you’re downloading legal material via p2p you MUST use Transmission. It’s relatively easy to use (although port forwarding can be a pain) and the footprint is really small.

If you’re editing/ripping etc. video then the following apps are recommended.

In some countries you can make a legal backup of a movie Mactheripper (from ripdifferent.com) is the Mac standard. If you want to put a dvd file onto a dvd then you can use Toast/Popcorn (which has morphed into bloatware as well); VisualHub which will also convert x264 files pretty quickly as well and burn dvds. Also you can create dvds from dvd files with DVD2OneX and DVD Remaster.

There are other alternatives but these are the best. I can’t move on without metioning Handbrake for converting into other formats although DVD Remaster does this as well. Let’s not forget that little plug-in called Flip4Mac which allows you to view WMV files in Quicktime. If you have a copy of QuicktimePro you can do some really neat conversions as well.
With all these apps this creates a lot of data and sometimes things can go wrong. To keep your OS running in top condition I recommend the following two apps. OnyX is a little utility which will clean up caches and verify the Startup Disk as well as the system structure files. For more heavy duty maintenance I use Techtool Deluxe (free if you have AppleCare support) or Techtool Deluxe which goes further than the former.

I primarily skipped the bundled software from Apple and Microsoft because you can try them out for you self (and buy if necessary). And I know there are thousands of other applications which I failed to mention but this two-part summation came in just under 1000 words. Likewise I admit to being biased, I am human and after 30 years of computing I’ve experienced some of the best and the worst in software. If you have any favourite Mac compatible applications or utilities then please let’s here your two cents’ worth.