Have Another Apple

There are three types of people in the world. Those who love Apple, those who hate Apple, and those who are too scared to switch. Why are such users scared to switch? The real answer is program compatibility. What the majority of switches are not aware of is that Apple now supports many of your favourite programs - and if not, a very useful supplement. If you are using Windows at the moment (as 19% of Have Another Apple’s visitors are), then you need to compile a list of your favourite programs and see if they are compatible with Mac OS X and if not, a substitute. We will combine a list of popular programs here for your convenience.

Graphics design
Chances are that you are using Photoshop. As you are no doubt aware, there is a Mac version of Photoshop aswell, and you can download a trial straight from Adobe’s site here. However, if you are not appealed towards paying for an upgrade or a brand new version of CS3, then there is a cheaper alternative called Pixelmator. As mentioned in a previous post, Pixelmator has an interface similar to Photoshop’s format, yet with much more ‘jazz’. This program is only US$59, and I prefer it’s interface over Photoshop’s, plus it has most (and more) features. For more details, view their site.

Website editing/coding
Some of you may use simple editing programs as basic as Notepad on Windows or a WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) editor such as Microsoft Frontpage or Adobe Dreamweaver. Dreamweaver also has a 30 day trial, yet a program recommended to me by Matt of Another Pointless Blog has a great interface, built in FTP and is easy to adapt to from either Notepad or Dreamweaver. This program, titled Coda, is priced at a very reasonable US$79 and will suit all of your needs.

More after the jump.

Internet
Many of you would be using Firefox if you are on Windows. Great news - it works well on Mac as well, and most of your extensions you are accustomed to on Windows will also work on your Mac. Stumble, speed downloads and others seem to work fine. Or, you could try Safari with it’s proved speed increase over firefox. If you want to try Safari out before making the switch - then have a look at Safari for Windows first. You’ll be amazed at its sleek interface and amazing speeds. Camino is also a Mozilla-created browser that is designed just for Mac OS X users.

E-mail
Microsoft Outlook? Outlook Express? Windows Mail? Thunderbird? This list goes on for e-mail clients. Thunderbird still works seamlessly with Apple, so if you are a true Mozilla fan, you don’t have to look far. Apple Mail is my personal favourite. It is simple - yet effective; and works well with your iLife programs and iCal - even more so than the newest version of Windows Mail on Vista. You can drag and drop images into premade templates, and it is also intelligent - and can add a date to iCal such as “21st next thursday”, without a specific date.

Word processing/Office
Last, but certainly not least, is a word processor. Whilst I am yet to have my hands on Office:Mac 08 (keep your eyes out for a review), I have used it’s predecessor and am amazed at it’s sleek interface and transparency. The 2008 version is only going to be even more productive and is following the new look as first launched in Microsoft Office 2007. It is, in my opinion, a “must buy”; especially if you are a student at school or college. It is the most compatible and would reign over Apple’s own Pages and NeoOffice. I have not used Pages, however I am currently using NeoOffice (Mac version of OpenOffice) while waiting for Office 08. It supports everything the same as the Microsoft counterpart, and integrates all programs (such as word processing, presentations, spreadsheets) into the one, rather than separately. Good choice if you are not after Office.

Please leave a comment with your view on the above programs - and your own suggestions.