30 replies to this topic

[WharfRat]

So I finally did it! I just bought a 27" iMac

3.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
2TB Serial ATA Drive
AMD Radeon HD 6970M 2GB GDDR5

I thought about adding a solid state drive but couldn't justify the additional expense... (This build already cost waaaayyyyy too much money!)

So I'm super stoked for my iMac to arrive, but I'm curious for those of you who have a Mac, what all should I know once it arrives? Are there any programs that are must haves? It's going to be interesting to find "extended trial" versions of software like MS Office/Photoshop/Maya etc as I'm sure there are less people to support those kinds of things with Mac. (I may break down and just buy MS Office...) Do the usual suspects serve well even for macs? (TPB/"the website that is of or relating to demons")

Any general info/tips I should know on the conversion?

Thanks in advance!

(P.s. I'm glad ABrosia, etc, work on Mac! )

[Shampoo]

So I finally did it! I just bought a 27" iMac
This build already cost waaaayyyyy too much money!

[Trichomes]

You should be able to find all of that software on...those sites. I don't think I ever purchased software for my Macbook.

I'd recommend downloading Transmission and PeerGuardian. Also, Adium is great if you need a messenger. I can't really think of anything else off the top of my head, but I'll let you know if I do.

Edited by Trichomes, 13 September 2011 - 09:19 PM.

[frostz]

So I'm super stoked for my iMac to arrive, but I'm curious for those of you who have a Mac, what all should I know once it arrives? Are there any programs that are must haves?
Any general info/tips I should know on the conversion?

Thanks in advance!

(P.s. I'm glad ABrosia, etc, work on Mac! )

stuffit expander is pretty useful, i don't know if newer macs come with it pre-installed but i had to manually install it on mine. Its basically the mac version of winrar

[WharfRat]

Thanks for the info guys! I really appreciate such a quick response and I really like the description you all are giving about what each bit of software does...

Does anyone know of something similar to VLC Media Player for macs? Off to bed for now... but I truly do appreciate any and all info!

Thanks,
Cody

[Kalla]

I'm pretty sure you can still get VLC for macs but Movist does a much better job.

[artificial]

I'd download Virtual Box and just install a copy of Win7 on it (comes in handy when you need to test certain applications).

jDownloader, Adium, Skype, Teamviewer, Office, Tor Browser - some recommendations.

[ToxicS]

Wow did that cost like 3k or something?

[Waser Lave]

Incidentally, why did you choose a iMac with those specs rather than a PC? (If you'd gone for a PC you could probably have got the SSD too )

[Therion]

Why are you looking for windows software alternatives on a mac?

Sounds like you paid more money for more hassle on a shittier machine.

[WharfRat]

I chose a Mac for several reasons... A few of which being that I am sick of windows entirely... Windows OS is clunky and slow and I've never been a fan of it. The other major reason is I plan to start doing a lot more video recording/editing in the future. I am aware that a similar windows machine would have cost a few hundred less, but it was a price I was willing to pay to gtfo of windows.

I'm asking about Windows software alternatives on Mac because I've used Windows for the past 15 years... I know there will be some software that I've grown incredibly accustomed to that I will need to find an alternative for... thus, who better to ask than other Mac owners?

Thank you to all of you who have provided information on software I might actually find useful!

[artificial]

Why are you looking for windows software alternatives on a mac?

Sounds like you paid more money for more hassle on a shittier machine.

On the other hand, it's a lot easier to run and port linux applications over to OSX than Windows

[Waser Lave]

On the other hand, it's a lot easier to run and port linux applications over to OSX than Windows

Are there many linux applications which OSX or Windows users would want/need though?

[artificial]

Are there many linux applications which OSX or Windows users would want/need though?

I would shudder at the mere thought of having to do what I do 90% of the day on Windows. I'm not really talking about the extensive GUI applications that exist for Linux - there's always an alternative for Windows (or, in many cases, the Linux version is the alternative). I'm mainly talking about all of the packages and whatnot that exist for Linux. Mac users get the best of both worlds!

Also, bow tiesmacs are cooool.

[Waser Lave]

I would shudder at the mere thought of having to do what I do 90% of the day on Windows. I'm not really talking about the extensive GUI applications that exist for Linux - there's always an alternative for Windows (or, in many cases, the Linux version is the alternative). I'm mainly talking about all of the packages and whatnot that exist for Linux. Mac users get the best of both worlds!

Also, bow tiesmacs are cooool.

For probably 99% of people though they wouldn't really have a use for any of those applications. Most computers users really just want to access the internet, use office related applications and perhaps some music and video. For those kind of uses Linux applications just aren't really in the same league as OSX or Windows applications yet.

[artificial]

My original post was more a compliment of OSX than a push for Linux.

[Joanna]

*RUNS TO APPLICATIONS FOLDER!!!*
You've got to go download AppCleaner
Its really the only way to make sure that when you uninstall a program that doesn't have an uninstall file- that it gets uninstalled. (other wise you have to find all the files and delete them yourself.)

Also- I don't use Mail for my email client.. its messy and a pain in the butt- I'd definitely get Thunderbird or Entourage.

Wallsaver is really fun. You can see what that does.

Candy Bar is pretty sweet for customization.

And you'll need Microsoft Silverlight.

Otherwise its all basic from there... like chat clients, neocodex stuff... and games and such.


ENJOY your iMac. Annndd tell me how Lion is. Debating on whether I wanna spend the 30 bucks.

I'm pretty sure you can still get VLC for macs but Movist does a much better job.

This is truth. I have VLC and some others and VLC is sorta glitchy.

[Trichomes]

stuffit expander is pretty useful, i don't know if newer macs come with it pre-installed but i had to manually install it on mine. Its basically the mac version of winrar

BetterZip is another good alternative.

[Norava]

I have a macbook pro, and love it. I use uTorrent alot (seriously though, who doesn't use bit torrent clients), you can find a DMG of Microsoft 2011, which was nice. I did install a bootcamp partition of windows, simple due to the fact my university has some windows only programs. I don't know if you got the magic mouse or what not, but I have a trackpad on my laptop, and it's amazing. Being able to scroll and all the shortcuts you can use is awesome. I get fast responses whenever I use an application, and time machine is really simple to use. You're iMac is a lot nicer than my MBP, but if you have any questions just let me know and I'll do my best to help.

[Waser Lave]

I use uTorrent alot (seriously though, who doesn't use bit torrent clients)

I don't.

[WharfRat]

Mac just shipped! Thank you all for all of your suggestions! I will be sure to use this $100 gift card to grab some of the apps mentioned!

Now the real question comes... MS Office or iWork?

[Donaldmax]

Why didn't you just buy a PC for less and install Mac OS on it? Much cheaper.

[Joanna]

Mac just shipped! Thank you all for all of your suggestions! I will be sure to use this $100 gift card to grab some of the apps mentioned!

Now the real question comes... MS Office or iWork?

I recommend iWork for prettiness and some kickass templates... but I use Office.

[Norava]

I had iWork and office. Although, if people make documents in Microsoft, they don't always transfer right into iPages. I like iWork, but Microsoft is better in my opinion, and has more all around usefulness.

[Joanna]

I had iWork and office. Although, if people make documents in Microsoft, they don't always transfer right into iPages. I like iWork, but Microsoft is better in my opinion, and has more all around usefulness.

This is true. When you save a file in iWork the default setting is .pages but you can always change it to .doc (97). Honestly though its just easier to get Office. I just downloaded the new 2011 Office for school yesterday and I love it! Its very nice and almost identical to the Windows Version now. The older version is a bit more confusing.
And Outlook works FANTASTICALLY... way better than Entourage like I previously suggested.