Once you Mac you don’t go back!
August 1st 5 commentsThat’s right, folks! I’ve joined the ‘design’ world proper with the purchase of a MacBook.
I’ve been using a G5 at work for a while now and I started to find that when I went home and had to work on my IBM Windows machine I just got sad/angry. The keys weren’t in the right place, applications were slow to respond and the lack of proper anti-aliasing was beginning to fuck with me…I had to make the change!
And, god, am I glad!
I’ve been wanting the Intel based MacBook since it came out. The only real thing keeping me from buying a Mac was the outrageous price! Now that Macs are sporting Intel chips the price has plummeted.
So then began the massive savings drive. I flogged a bunch of tech equipment that I didn’t use any more which gave me a good head start to the fund raising. Three months down the line, and I finally had enough to get what I wanted. And as luck would have it I found the perfect set-up on Trademe!
A white (I would have preferred the black one…but eh) 1.8Ghz Dual Core with 2Gigs of ram. As specced as it could get. AND it cost me $300 less than I’d originally expected. Score!
Now that I’m a Mac Owner I’ve noticed a few things. I’m actually willing to buy software. No more do I try find a cracked version of some bit of software (for evaluation purposes, of course!)…I’m more than happy to pay (the usually very small amount) for top quality software. So far I’ve purchased: TextMate and Transmit and I couldn’t be happier with my purchase.
What software do you use? What do you recommend I spend my hard earned $ on?
Another plus side to being a Mac Owner is the lack of spyware and viruses. (Haha - Windows can bite my arse!) When I add peripherals to the laptop they just work. No having to download drivers or installation software. My phone just works with the MacBook, my external drive just works, my camera, my iPod, my external keyboard+mouse. It all just works!
In conclusion I’d like to say that I’m totally smitten. OS X rules. Mac hardware rules. Apples taste goooood!
TextMate and Transmit were a really good start.
Here is a short list of software I bought and recommend:
SpamSieve for total spam annihilation.
NetNewsWire for my 100+ feeds. (There is a free light version)
VoodooPad for.. everything. (There is a free light version)
LaunchBar, more reliable than the free QuickSilver IMHO, but YMMV. Anyway, one of those is a must-have.
LittleSnitch because I hate apps “phoning home” without my consent.
iTerm, Terminal with Tabs. Free.
svnX, a GUI for Subversion. Free.
MAMP: Apache, PHP, MySQL in one app. Free.
Locomotive: Ruby on Rails, lighttpd with FastCGI and SQLite in one app. Free.
ImageWell for quick image manipulations. Free.
Check MacUpdate.com for more soft and reviews of those.
Enough for now, I really hope html links are allowed and that this won’t be considered as spam.
P.S: Looks like it was considered as spam. :( Here is another try without the links. search on macupdate…
Well, you’ve already got parallels, and that would probably have been the first thing i’d install, just for the added fun of running windoze on mac :)
Scott raves about textmate too. I wish there was a port to linux for it.
I dont mind paying for Mac apps either, they’re usually under 100 bucks, it’s paying for PC apps like Word or PowerPoint I can’t handle.
I use BBedit with Interarchy just because I have been for about 6 years, I’m sure textmate is nice despite the lame name. Next time BBedit has a paid upgrade I might consider the 30 day trial.
PS If you like Launchbar try DragThing, I’ve been using it since Mac OS 7.0 - plus it’s free :)
About DragThing: $29 is not really free.
(Better late than never ;o) )
It was my shiny little Powerbook that did tipped you over right? ;o)
My significant other recommends Quicksilver, never used it myself. I have an almost full range of browsers installed on my powerbook, except for IE for Mac. NeoOffice is a Mac OpenOffice-based office applications suite for compatibility.
I like SubEthaEdit and Adium (chat), and there’s Eclipse which is crossplatform, and love StyleMaster :o)
There’s also Inkscape and Gimp for images, though I think reading the how-to was good for me because the instructions for Mac are a little complex depending on your system config.
I’m currently investigating Omni Outliner and OmniGraffle, which may have come bundled with your Mac (maybe).
Also, I got an iSkin cover for the laptop keyboard, and invested in a Bluetooth keyboard for use at my desk, and it was worth every cent. I’ll also be getting an iSkin cover for it too.
MacZot.com sometimes has some cool apps which you can buy at a discount. They’re doing storyZot at the moment, so no idea what’s going on there, but sometimes they have some funky little apps for a few US dollars, or at least a fairly decent discount (usually). MacUpdate sometimes has promos for software too.
Cheers and beers!
Sarah