Can you name some truly unique Mac programs?
September 6, 2009 12:25 PM Subscribe
I'm thinking about buying a Mac. I've done a lot of Googling about what the Mac equivalents are for Windows programs, but I want to know the opposite. What are some unique, interesting, or innovative Mac programs that have no real equivalent on Windows? Are there any that are so awesome that they're worth switching to Apple?
Quicksilver. Better than any of the Windows clones.
I've got both (the unibody macbook was just too damn sexy not to switch). As a general internet/music/movies user, my decision was less about applications and more about interface. Not having to dig through menus and deal with instability and inconsistency is pretty cool. I installed Parallels because I thought I couldn't live without some Windows-only programs, but I have never felt the need to use it.
posted by csd at 12:58 PM on September 6, 2009 [4 favorites]
I've got both (the unibody macbook was just too damn sexy not to switch). As a general internet/music/movies user, my decision was less about applications and more about interface. Not having to dig through menus and deal with instability and inconsistency is pretty cool. I installed Parallels because I thought I couldn't live without some Windows-only programs, but I have never felt the need to use it.
posted by csd at 12:58 PM on September 6, 2009 [4 favorites]
seconding quicksilver , adding delicious library, visualhub (now defunct)
posted by spyke23 at 1:04 PM on September 6, 2009
posted by spyke23 at 1:04 PM on September 6, 2009
SubEthaEdit, a collaborative text editor that is simple enough to immediately start collaborative editing and good enough for serious programming.
posted by Free word order! at 1:05 PM on September 6, 2009
posted by Free word order! at 1:05 PM on September 6, 2009
Naturally, Apple's own software:
Pro: Final Cut Studio (film and visuals editing), Logic Studio (music), Aperture (photo),
Consumer: iWork (office), iLife (personal lifestyle apps)
The omni apps as mentioned above. There is also a bunch of audio and music specific software (programs and plugins) that are mac-only.
Personally I have Devonthink, a splendid information manager, with artificial intelligence to help you sort out and manage all your digital world, I don't know of any equivalent on other platforms.
posted by gmm at 1:05 PM on September 6, 2009
Pro: Final Cut Studio (film and visuals editing), Logic Studio (music), Aperture (photo),
Consumer: iWork (office), iLife (personal lifestyle apps)
The omni apps as mentioned above. There is also a bunch of audio and music specific software (programs and plugins) that are mac-only.
Personally I have Devonthink, a splendid information manager, with artificial intelligence to help you sort out and manage all your digital world, I don't know of any equivalent on other platforms.
posted by gmm at 1:05 PM on September 6, 2009
I don't think anyone has anythlng like Delicious Library on Windows.
The one app I missed having on my gaming-only Windows PC (pre-Intel Macs) was BBEdit. One of my favorite text editors ever.
Many of Apple's features have been duplicated on Windows via third-party software: Exposé, Dashboard, etc. Having these built-in is a massive win.
I've never been a Windows users, so I don't have any visibility into what Mac has that Windows doesn't, but one of the big advantages I've seen is that the user interface and user experience of Mac apps tends to be far better than Windows apps, and apps that have been coded to be cross-platform (using custom widgets and the like) tend to feel wrong in some way.
posted by caphector at 1:06 PM on September 6, 2009 [1 favorite]
The one app I missed having on my gaming-only Windows PC (pre-Intel Macs) was BBEdit. One of my favorite text editors ever.
Many of Apple's features have been duplicated on Windows via third-party software: Exposé, Dashboard, etc. Having these built-in is a massive win.
I've never been a Windows users, so I don't have any visibility into what Mac has that Windows doesn't, but one of the big advantages I've seen is that the user interface and user experience of Mac apps tends to be far better than Windows apps, and apps that have been coded to be cross-platform (using custom widgets and the like) tend to feel wrong in some way.
posted by caphector at 1:06 PM on September 6, 2009 [1 favorite]
If you do any writing at all, Scrivener is absolutely invaluable and awesome.
posted by lilac girl at 1:10 PM on September 6, 2009
posted by lilac girl at 1:10 PM on September 6, 2009
Windows lacks DEVONThink.
Windows lacks Journler.
Windows lacks true equivalents for Quicksilver and Spotlight.
Windows has PowerShell, but most developers I know find it clumsy and inferior to the power that a good bash or zsh environment provides on most UNIX systems, which is available through Mac OS X's Terminal application.
Windows lacks the GUI scripting possibilities that are provided by Automator.
Windows lacks Expose.
Windows lacks applications like iMovie, Garageband, iPhoto, Aperture, Final Cut Studio.
Apple makes its developer's tools available for free with very few restrictions. Windows did not have free developer's tools until a short time ago. Those packages that Microsoft now makes available are focused to one language each (which makes it clumsy to develop in more than one language) and are each more or less neutered: You can't make commercial software with Microsoft's free offerings, for example.
Those are just a few off the top of my head.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:18 PM on September 6, 2009 [1 favorite]
Windows lacks Journler.
Windows lacks true equivalents for Quicksilver and Spotlight.
Windows has PowerShell, but most developers I know find it clumsy and inferior to the power that a good bash or zsh environment provides on most UNIX systems, which is available through Mac OS X's Terminal application.
Windows lacks the GUI scripting possibilities that are provided by Automator.
Windows lacks Expose.
Windows lacks applications like iMovie, Garageband, iPhoto, Aperture, Final Cut Studio.
Apple makes its developer's tools available for free with very few restrictions. Windows did not have free developer's tools until a short time ago. Those packages that Microsoft now makes available are focused to one language each (which makes it clumsy to develop in more than one language) and are each more or less neutered: You can't make commercial software with Microsoft's free offerings, for example.
Those are just a few off the top of my head.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:18 PM on September 6, 2009 [1 favorite]
Oh, and Windows lacks an equivalent for TextMate, especially where TextMate exposes the lack of command-line integration in most Windows text editors.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:20 PM on September 6, 2009
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:20 PM on September 6, 2009
I'm not very computer savvy, so you might want to ignore me if you are, but I love iMovie. It's ridiculously easy to use and integrates easily with iTunes. You might be able to get something comparable for a PC, but I think it would be expensive. iMovie came with my Mac and worked as soon as I plugged in my mom's video camera.
posted by craichead at 1:22 PM on September 6, 2009
posted by craichead at 1:22 PM on September 6, 2009
All the so-called "Zen-ware" apps, e.g.:
Isolator
WriteRoom
Tofu
Development of this sort of thing has been, and will likely remain, substantially ahead of the curve on Macs.
Also see my suggestions (and those of others) here.
posted by jimmyjimjim at 1:23 PM on September 6, 2009 [1 favorite]
Isolator
WriteRoom
Tofu
Development of this sort of thing has been, and will likely remain, substantially ahead of the curve on Macs.
Also see my suggestions (and those of others) here.
posted by jimmyjimjim at 1:23 PM on September 6, 2009 [1 favorite]
If you're interested in the best catalog of Mac software, right now that's osx.iusethis.com.
Textmate--there are plenty of great text editors on Windows and even a Textmate clone, but nothing beats it.
NetNewsWire for a long time was the number one RSS reader on all platforms. A Mac RSS reader that had more users than any Windows RSS reader. It's that freaking awesome. It's now owned by the same company that puts out NewsFire, but is still single-handedly coded by the same guy. It's just awesome, exactly what I want from an RSS reader and nothing more.
Unix stuff generally. Through Macports you can install almost anything from the Unix/Linux universe quite easily, and if you don't mind GUI monstrosities you can run most X11 software, too. (A lot of X11 software is available as "normal" Mac programs that just require X11 (which Apple provides as an optional install), i.e., you don't need a package manager.)
posted by yesno at 1:27 PM on September 6, 2009
Textmate--there are plenty of great text editors on Windows and even a Textmate clone, but nothing beats it.
NetNewsWire for a long time was the number one RSS reader on all platforms. A Mac RSS reader that had more users than any Windows RSS reader. It's that freaking awesome. It's now owned by the same company that puts out NewsFire, but is still single-handedly coded by the same guy. It's just awesome, exactly what I want from an RSS reader and nothing more.
Unix stuff generally. Through Macports you can install almost anything from the Unix/Linux universe quite easily, and if you don't mind GUI monstrosities you can run most X11 software, too. (A lot of X11 software is available as "normal" Mac programs that just require X11 (which Apple provides as an optional install), i.e., you don't need a package manager.)
posted by yesno at 1:27 PM on September 6, 2009
In response to several reccos of Delicious Library, I happen to like DVDpedia, Bookpedia, and CDpedia instead, all by Bruji
posted by jimmyjimjim at 1:32 PM on September 6, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by jimmyjimjim at 1:32 PM on September 6, 2009 [2 favorites]
Skitch is great.
posted by backwards guitar at 1:35 PM on September 6, 2009
posted by backwards guitar at 1:35 PM on September 6, 2009
It really depends on what you spend your time doing, and what kind of user you are. I split my time between Linux and OS X, and spend a lot of time doing programming and sysadmin work, and my programs reflect that - Terminal.app, SubEthaEdit for text editing (when I'm not using vim in Terminal), and so on. The big thing I like about it is that I have easy access to a Unix system underneath, but it has a more polished facade than when I use Ubuntu.
Regardless of your workflow, though, if you use AIM, you'll probably love Adium.
posted by spaceman_spiff at 1:36 PM on September 6, 2009
Regardless of your workflow, though, if you use AIM, you'll probably love Adium.
posted by spaceman_spiff at 1:36 PM on September 6, 2009
For creative types, there's Studio Artist, ArtMatic, Numerology and MetaSynth. Nothing even vaguely comparable in Windows, and as far as MetaSynth, there are more than a few top-shelf audio designers who have bought a Mac for just this one program.
posted by dbiedny at 1:36 PM on September 6, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by dbiedny at 1:36 PM on September 6, 2009 [1 favorite]
I've bought my first Mac 6 years ago and I still use both systems.
FWIW, there is no true killer app that will make it worth switching to OS X. Windows has equivalents for all the software listed. They might not be as polished/pretty but you can get things done just as well.
posted by wongcorgi at 1:42 PM on September 6, 2009 [1 favorite]
FWIW, there is no true killer app that will make it worth switching to OS X. Windows has equivalents for all the software listed. They might not be as polished/pretty but you can get things done just as well.
posted by wongcorgi at 1:42 PM on September 6, 2009 [1 favorite]
@StriketheViol
Indeed, the expectation is indeed that you'll have multiple overlapping windows going all the time, with the normal way to switch between programs to click on a bit of another window rather than Expose or cmd-tab.
(This partly stems from the fact that a "window" on a Mac is something that a program owns, rather than as on Windows a window generally being equivalent to a program, sometimes with a "main window"--talk about a kludge. On the other hand, some programs do close when you close their windows (calculator, system prefs) and in order to actually quit a program you have to use the menu or cmd-Q, which is more time-consuming.)
Mac users generally find the idea of "maximizing" windows to be counter-productive and to work against the purpose of a GUI--but the rise of "zen programs" referenced above does show that for some tasks, particularly writing, a distraction-free environment can be preferable.
If you're very attracted to the idea of having a bunch of maximized windows and tabbing through them to switch tasks, you'll hate the Mac. But it may be worthwhile to think about whether a program actually needs to take up more room on-screen than its contents demand.
The other expectation that exists on the Mac and not Windows is that on the Mac, you do many, many more tasks through drag-and-drop, rather than through menus and submenus. E.g. you open files by dropping files onto dock icons.
posted by yesno at 1:44 PM on September 6, 2009 [1 favorite]
Indeed, the expectation is indeed that you'll have multiple overlapping windows going all the time, with the normal way to switch between programs to click on a bit of another window rather than Expose or cmd-tab.
(This partly stems from the fact that a "window" on a Mac is something that a program owns, rather than as on Windows a window generally being equivalent to a program, sometimes with a "main window"--talk about a kludge. On the other hand, some programs do close when you close their windows (calculator, system prefs) and in order to actually quit a program you have to use the menu or cmd-Q, which is more time-consuming.)
Mac users generally find the idea of "maximizing" windows to be counter-productive and to work against the purpose of a GUI--but the rise of "zen programs" referenced above does show that for some tasks, particularly writing, a distraction-free environment can be preferable.
If you're very attracted to the idea of having a bunch of maximized windows and tabbing through them to switch tasks, you'll hate the Mac. But it may be worthwhile to think about whether a program actually needs to take up more room on-screen than its contents demand.
The other expectation that exists on the Mac and not Windows is that on the Mac, you do many, many more tasks through drag-and-drop, rather than through menus and submenus. E.g. you open files by dropping files onto dock icons.
posted by yesno at 1:44 PM on September 6, 2009 [1 favorite]
Quicksilver, as mentioned above, is great.
Also, Apple's "Spotlight" search technology is second-to-none. What I really like is, say, when you're online and trying to upload a photo to attach to an email, there is a little Spotlight bar that allows you to search for it within that upload window, which is much faster than browsing to find it.
posted by radioamy at 1:56 PM on September 6, 2009
Also, Apple's "Spotlight" search technology is second-to-none. What I really like is, say, when you're online and trying to upload a photo to attach to an email, there is a little Spotlight bar that allows you to search for it within that upload window, which is much faster than browsing to find it.
posted by radioamy at 1:56 PM on September 6, 2009
Oh, also Time Machine is such a smart backup system. All you do is plug in the drive and the computer does the rest. Brilliant!
posted by radioamy at 1:57 PM on September 6, 2009
posted by radioamy at 1:57 PM on September 6, 2009
Skitch is awesome, Jounler is also great. A few that haven't yet been mentioned: Circus Ponies' Notebook is truly unique; I tried OmniFocus for task management, but ultimately chose Things; 1Password is indispensable!
Enjoy
posted by GoshND at 2:00 PM on September 6, 2009
Enjoy
posted by GoshND at 2:00 PM on September 6, 2009
Growl is a notification tool that a lot of Mac appliations use. I don't think there is a windows equivalent. It's similar to when you get an MSN notification, but for apps, and is nicer and can be customized.
Scroll down here for good example screenshots.
Seconding OmniFocus although the $79 price tag is a bit steep.
posted by furtive at 2:07 PM on September 6, 2009
Scroll down here for good example screenshots.
Seconding OmniFocus although the $79 price tag is a bit steep.
posted by furtive at 2:07 PM on September 6, 2009
I built, sold and supported Windows-based PCs through my late teens and early 20s. I switched to a Mac after extensively using a relative's for a couple of years, and finding that my gaming was becoming far, far less important to my lifestyle.
As far as Mac apps go, the only one that would really cause a void is Final Cut Pro, and possibly to a lesser degree NetNewsWire - everything else can be duplicated in some way.
The real killer Mac app is the operating system itself. It's just such a pleasure to use. I often have to support, set up or generally work in Windows, and I find it a real pain 95% of the time. There are a few things that Windows does better, but they're very, very small things that are enormously outweighed by the more ergonomic workflow of OSX and Apple apps in general.
If you have the moolah and the inclination, and you're not a hardcore gamer, I strongly recommend it.
posted by Magnakai at 2:09 PM on September 6, 2009 [2 favorites]
As far as Mac apps go, the only one that would really cause a void is Final Cut Pro, and possibly to a lesser degree NetNewsWire - everything else can be duplicated in some way.
The real killer Mac app is the operating system itself. It's just such a pleasure to use. I often have to support, set up or generally work in Windows, and I find it a real pain 95% of the time. There are a few things that Windows does better, but they're very, very small things that are enormously outweighed by the more ergonomic workflow of OSX and Apple apps in general.
If you have the moolah and the inclination, and you're not a hardcore gamer, I strongly recommend it.
posted by Magnakai at 2:09 PM on September 6, 2009 [2 favorites]
Plainview, a full text web browser, and a great tool for doing presentations.
posted by James Scott-Brown at 2:11 PM on September 6, 2009
posted by James Scott-Brown at 2:11 PM on September 6, 2009
Things by Culturedcode is a task manager that I prefer over omnifocus. I know plenty of PC users have asked for a windows version.
I'm also a fan of VoodooPad and Writeroom. Both have similar PC applications but aren't as good.
As far as the other mentions, a few notes. I'm a fan of NetNewsWire, but I know many have dumped it for google reader. I prefer it also. However, NNW is switching to syncing WITH google reader, so I might take a look at it again.
Journler's author has made noise about giving up and turning it open-source. Quicksilver is becoming more unstable by the month. Quite a few people are giving up on it.
But I prefer software on the mac as a whole over what's on the PC. Quality over quantity. So while the names might change and applications come and go, I think as the whole you'd be impressed with what the Mac has to offer compared to the PC.
posted by justgary at 2:12 PM on September 6, 2009
I'm also a fan of VoodooPad and Writeroom. Both have similar PC applications but aren't as good.
As far as the other mentions, a few notes. I'm a fan of NetNewsWire, but I know many have dumped it for google reader. I prefer it also. However, NNW is switching to syncing WITH google reader, so I might take a look at it again.
Journler's author has made noise about giving up and turning it open-source. Quicksilver is becoming more unstable by the month. Quite a few people are giving up on it.
But I prefer software on the mac as a whole over what's on the PC. Quality over quantity. So while the names might change and applications come and go, I think as the whole you'd be impressed with what the Mac has to offer compared to the PC.
posted by justgary at 2:12 PM on September 6, 2009
The most irreplaceable things for me are BBEdit (way faster and more mature than TextMate), GarageBand, Xcode and lastly the Finder.
posted by w0mbat at 2:22 PM on September 6, 2009
posted by w0mbat at 2:22 PM on September 6, 2009
I came in here to recommend Papers, but James Scott-Brown beat me to it.
Papers is awesome.
posted by you're a kitty! at 3:03 PM on September 6, 2009
Papers is awesome.
posted by you're a kitty! at 3:03 PM on September 6, 2009
I can't believe no one's mentioned iChat for video chatting. I spent years trying to get my parents and sister who live across the country to use their web cams with me. Finally, when my son was born, I just bought them both cheap MacBooks and they took to iChat immediately. Now, a couple times a week they get to watch Baby Bartfast giggling and rolling around in his crib.
Also, I don't know if there's a windows equivalent, but I think AirTunes is the neatest thing in the world. We use it to put music in any or all the rooms in our house.
Logic is so much better for recording than any windows product I've used, but it's pretty difficult to for novices. Garageband is a hoot and anyone can start doing things with it immediately.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 3:16 PM on September 6, 2009
Also, I don't know if there's a windows equivalent, but I think AirTunes is the neatest thing in the world. We use it to put music in any or all the rooms in our house.
Logic is so much better for recording than any windows product I've used, but it's pretty difficult to for novices. Garageband is a hoot and anyone can start doing things with it immediately.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 3:16 PM on September 6, 2009
I believe most, if not all of the programs listed here have Windows equivalents. The thing that I've found is that whilst the Windows and Mac programs do the same things, the Mac ones just seem to do them better. Not in a faster way, just that the experience of using the program is nicer, simpler, better thought out.
They also look a lot nicer, in my experience. Also, MobileMe (ugh - I preferred when it was called .Mac) allows great syncing between iPods/iPhones and Macs. For example:
- Voodoopad
- Things
- Papers
are three programs I use a lot. There are iPhone apps which sync my Mac with my iPod touch, giving me a bit more of a seamless feel. It's like I can still do the stuff I need, sans computer.
Also, native PDF support is wicked cool, as is the general core interface stuff - exposé, spaces etc.
Has anyone actually got Quicksilver playing nicely with Snow Leopard? I've had troubles, and have heard similar from others.
posted by djgh at 3:46 PM on September 6, 2009
They also look a lot nicer, in my experience. Also, MobileMe (ugh - I preferred when it was called .Mac) allows great syncing between iPods/iPhones and Macs. For example:
- Voodoopad
- Things
- Papers
are three programs I use a lot. There are iPhone apps which sync my Mac with my iPod touch, giving me a bit more of a seamless feel. It's like I can still do the stuff I need, sans computer.
Also, native PDF support is wicked cool, as is the general core interface stuff - exposé, spaces etc.
Has anyone actually got Quicksilver playing nicely with Snow Leopard? I've had troubles, and have heard similar from others.
posted by djgh at 3:46 PM on September 6, 2009
Scrivener is one I don't think has been mentioned yet - fabulous program if you do any kind of serious writing. (http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.html)
(I am also a devotee of Things, VoodooPad, iWork, and Bento - the last is a good database/info orging tool.)
posted by modernhypatia at 3:48 PM on September 6, 2009
(I am also a devotee of Things, VoodooPad, iWork, and Bento - the last is a good database/info orging tool.)
posted by modernhypatia at 3:48 PM on September 6, 2009
Thirding DevonThink Pro.
posted by fourcheesemac at 3:56 PM on September 6, 2009
posted by fourcheesemac at 3:56 PM on September 6, 2009
There is nothing like Panic's Coda (hand coding web building software) for the PC world. I know two windows guys who have macs explicitly for web building using this app.
posted by Aquaman at 4:06 PM on September 6, 2009
posted by Aquaman at 4:06 PM on September 6, 2009
OmniGraphSketcher is also mac only. Such a shame.
posted by caelumluna at 4:20 PM on September 6, 2009
posted by caelumluna at 4:20 PM on September 6, 2009
Just to make a quick point about gaming: yes, it isn't great if you're a hardcore gamer, and that's pretty much the only major concession you make buying a Mac. However, it's less of a dealbreaker than it used to be — since you can now boot into Windows natively, you can now game away to your heart's content (provided, of course, that the Mac you're looking at has a half decent graphics card). In any case, try not to let gaming be the basis for your decision — that's what an Xbox 360/PS3/Wii is for though, right?
posted by jaffacakerhubarb at 4:30 PM on September 6, 2009
posted by jaffacakerhubarb at 4:30 PM on September 6, 2009
Is there an equivalent to iPhoto? Or Spotlight? Or Expose? I find Expose to make desktop clutter much easier to handle. I always have multiple windows open, so I assign categories to desktops and organize my open apps that way.
By the way, I know there is an equivalent to Garageband, as I feared the loss of that program when I switched to the Mac a few years back. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the name of the Windows version.
posted by Piscean at 4:37 PM on September 6, 2009
By the way, I know there is an equivalent to Garageband, as I feared the loss of that program when I switched to the Mac a few years back. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the name of the Windows version.
posted by Piscean at 4:37 PM on September 6, 2009
Seconding Coda. I just moved to a Mac for work and honestly don't know how I managed to keep track of the sites I work on before this.
posted by hobgadling at 4:42 PM on September 6, 2009
posted by hobgadling at 4:42 PM on September 6, 2009
Camino! The only reason people use Firefox is because they don't know any better.
posted by k. at 5:03 PM on September 6, 2009
posted by k. at 5:03 PM on September 6, 2009
I love the terminal.
On any mac, I open the terminal, ftp down my .vimrc , .zshrc and .ssh/* files, ssh to work and I am ready to start writing some code like it was my old mac in 5 minutes. If you know what .vimrc is, you know how cool this is. Just like using linux, but prettier.
On windows, if I am even allowed to install stuff, i have to get cygwin, then xrvt, muck around with the config, and after 45 minutes I have something that has 20% the functionality of the terminal app.
posted by dirty lies at 5:20 PM on September 6, 2009
On any mac, I open the terminal, ftp down my .vimrc , .zshrc and .ssh/* files, ssh to work and I am ready to start writing some code like it was my old mac in 5 minutes. If you know what .vimrc is, you know how cool this is. Just like using linux, but prettier.
On windows, if I am even allowed to install stuff, i have to get cygwin, then xrvt, muck around with the config, and after 45 minutes I have something that has 20% the functionality of the terminal app.
posted by dirty lies at 5:20 PM on September 6, 2009
While QuickSilver is indeed awesome, you may have trouble installing it in Snow Leopard. It's been abandoned by its author and hasn't been updated in awhile. I do hope he opens it up and lets someone else take on the project so that it won't stagnate.
I'm using an older version of QS on 10.6 and it runs fine.
posted by rtha at 5:32 PM on September 6, 2009
I'm using an older version of QS on 10.6 and it runs fine.
posted by rtha at 5:32 PM on September 6, 2009
I'm going to chime in for Scrivener even though it's mentioned above. It's Mac only writing software that has no Windows equivalent. If you do any sort of creative writing, especially novels, it is phenomenal.
posted by 2oh1 at 6:02 PM on September 6, 2009
posted by 2oh1 at 6:02 PM on September 6, 2009
Here's a Mac-only piece of hardware:
If you're a serious audiophile who wants the best possible sound for your music, or if you create music with your Mac, you absolutely must check out the Apogee Duet. The Duet is a Mac only audio interface that is also Mac-like in its simplicity, usability and sex appeal. Yes, I said sex appeal.
Basically, the Duet is a metal box with a giant volume knob and VU meters, plus XLR ins and 1/4 inch ins and outs. The volume knob controls levels coming into and out of the box as well as a mute / headphones only mode. SLICK!
Best of all, it has D/A converters that blow away anything at even triple the price. If it cost $1000, I'd say it's a bargain. I paid $2,000 years ago for Digidesign hardware that didn't sound as good as the Duet... oh, and the Duet only costs $499.
I bought a Duet six months ago and my ears have been in heaven ever since. Honest to god, I can hear details I've never heard before in music I've owned for man, many years. One downside, however. I can hear mistakes and flaws I've never noticed before either :)
posted by 2oh1 at 6:34 PM on September 6, 2009
If you're a serious audiophile who wants the best possible sound for your music, or if you create music with your Mac, you absolutely must check out the Apogee Duet. The Duet is a Mac only audio interface that is also Mac-like in its simplicity, usability and sex appeal. Yes, I said sex appeal.
Basically, the Duet is a metal box with a giant volume knob and VU meters, plus XLR ins and 1/4 inch ins and outs. The volume knob controls levels coming into and out of the box as well as a mute / headphones only mode. SLICK!
Best of all, it has D/A converters that blow away anything at even triple the price. If it cost $1000, I'd say it's a bargain. I paid $2,000 years ago for Digidesign hardware that didn't sound as good as the Duet... oh, and the Duet only costs $499.
I bought a Duet six months ago and my ears have been in heaven ever since. Honest to god, I can hear details I've never heard before in music I've owned for man, many years. One downside, however. I can hear mistakes and flaws I've never noticed before either :)
posted by 2oh1 at 6:34 PM on September 6, 2009
For me the killer app is Boot Camp. I was able to switch to Mac without having to rebuy any of the expensive Windows software I already had.
posted by Anoplura at 6:47 PM on September 6, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by Anoplura at 6:47 PM on September 6, 2009 [1 favorite]
I use both systems and have done so for about 20 years. Apples are nice, but not worth switching to just to switch. I find most of the high-end programs I use work just as well (or better) on Windows. Also, there are a lot more Windows programs out there. That said, I have two high-end Apples and one high-end Windows box, along with a mix notebooks in different platforms. I use Apples because I like the way the interface looks, but I rarely recommend them to Windows people. If you are doing graphics or media intensive work, go with an Apple. I cannot think of a killer app that makes an Apple superior to Windows. (let the tomatoes be thrown)
posted by fifilaru at 7:33 PM on September 6, 2009
posted by fifilaru at 7:33 PM on September 6, 2009
Growl For Windows and Snarl have identical functionality to Growl on OSX.
Also, UltraEdit is one of the best text editiors I've ever used, Mac or Windows based. TextMate might be great, but UltraEdit's ability to edit files on the server via FTP or SCP takes the cake for me.
posted by tayknight at 7:50 PM on September 6, 2009
Also, UltraEdit is one of the best text editiors I've ever used, Mac or Windows based. TextMate might be great, but UltraEdit's ability to edit files on the server via FTP or SCP takes the cake for me.
posted by tayknight at 7:50 PM on September 6, 2009
I've found that Spotlight with an apple-spacebar trigger does a much better job at launching apps in 10.6 than it used to. It's no Quicksilver or Launchbar, but it's built in.
posted by clango at 8:51 PM on September 6, 2009
posted by clango at 8:51 PM on September 6, 2009
No one appears to have mentioned the iLife Apple suite of apps. I used Windows for ten years before moving to the mac about five years ago, and I have to say there is nothing so simple and functional as iPhoto for simple photo management and light editing (also, great layout and printing of books). The newest iMovie is also a fantastic lightweight speedy video editor.
Those apps combined with the clean interface of iChat, Mail and the integration of Address Book across all apps and along with the iPhone lead me to never go back to Windows.
posted by mathowie at 10:20 PM on September 6, 2009
Those apps combined with the clean interface of iChat, Mail and the integration of Address Book across all apps and along with the iPhone lead me to never go back to Windows.
posted by mathowie at 10:20 PM on September 6, 2009
I find Apple's Software update to be far more streamlined than Microsoft's. Also, you don't have to deal with somebody like HP piggybacking there own set of updates on top of that (with all the fricking warning pop-ups)
posted by bonobothegreat at 10:55 PM on September 6, 2009
posted by bonobothegreat at 10:55 PM on September 6, 2009
WongCorgi, I really dispute that actual creation, from scratch and from templates, of valid HTML and CSS is genuinely viable on Windows. I’ve heard various ill-convincing claims to the contrary. I know experts who struggle for hours to create a file I can produce in a couple of minutes (not an exaggeration) with BBEdit. Unicode character encoding is particularly troublesome on a platform that simultaneously supports it and makes it punishingly difficult to type absolutely any character that isn’t US-ASCII.
That would be one salient example where Windows does not “get the job done.” It impedes the job.
Hence, yes, I – you – can’t live without BBEdit.
posted by joeclark at 11:01 PM on September 6, 2009
That would be one salient example where Windows does not “get the job done.” It impedes the job.
Hence, yes, I – you – can’t live without BBEdit.
posted by joeclark at 11:01 PM on September 6, 2009
I know this may not apply to you at all, but the universal access features in the Mac OS are built-in and outstanding compared to Windows. The fact that you have to purchase separate access technology for windows much of the time slows down the computer significantly and is often just bulky and awkward.
posted by Bueller at 12:28 AM on September 7, 2009
posted by Bueller at 12:28 AM on September 7, 2009
There's no Tweetie for Windows, I use TwitterFox on a PC but I really miss the clean interface of Tweetie.
In my opinion, Adium is better than all of the "equivalent" windows clients.
Also, if you develop iPhone apps, you have to use a Mac with XCode/Interface Builder.
posted by bertrandom at 5:55 AM on September 7, 2009
In my opinion, Adium is better than all of the "equivalent" windows clients.
Also, if you develop iPhone apps, you have to use a Mac with XCode/Interface Builder.
posted by bertrandom at 5:55 AM on September 7, 2009
Scrivener's the shizzle.
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 7:20 AM on September 7, 2009
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 7:20 AM on September 7, 2009
Quicksilver is insanely great, as mentioned above. The key is to discover all of the actions you can do with it. My favorite is using it to dial my cellphone using Bluetooth. I type the first few characters of my contact, the phone number pops up, I hit tab and then D (for dial with... bluetooth) and the call is made.
I get the feeling that apps just aren't as crucial as they once were, however. So much functionality is taking place online. At this point, you don't even really need an Office Application, since you can use Google Docs or similar.
What I think makes Mac programs unique is not so much that they offer features not found on PCs. Rather, it's that there is such an emphasis on creating good, easy-to-use interfaces. I regularly use Eclipse as my IDE and although the functionality offered is great, I pretty much hate using it because its interface is so reliably bad. Programs made exclusively for Macs (or ones like Firefox that conform closely to user interface standards and use common interfaces rather than rolling their own) are just so pleasant to use.
posted by Deathalicious at 11:00 AM on September 7, 2009
I get the feeling that apps just aren't as crucial as they once were, however. So much functionality is taking place online. At this point, you don't even really need an Office Application, since you can use Google Docs or similar.
What I think makes Mac programs unique is not so much that they offer features not found on PCs. Rather, it's that there is such an emphasis on creating good, easy-to-use interfaces. I regularly use Eclipse as my IDE and although the functionality offered is great, I pretty much hate using it because its interface is so reliably bad. Programs made exclusively for Macs (or ones like Firefox that conform closely to user interface standards and use common interfaces rather than rolling their own) are just so pleasant to use.
posted by Deathalicious at 11:00 AM on September 7, 2009
My favorite that hasn't been mentioned is MarcoPolo. It is a location-context aware application that can change system wide settings, launch/close applications, and more based on where it thinks the computer says it is as outlined by rules that you set up. For example, my Macbook thinks it is at "home" when it is connected to my home wireless network and when it is at home, MarcoPolo disables screensaver password protection, unmutes audio, mounts particular drives, and changes the default printer; when it is in a foreign location (i. e. not connected to a known wireless network), it password protects everything and locks itself down; when I take it to work, it mutes the audio and unprotects itself. You can have it do a veritable crapload of things based on what is plugged in, if something is connected by Bluetooth, time of day, and even if the ambient light levels are high or low. And best of all, it is a free/open source program. While it is back to working fairly well in Snow Leopard, it was the only broken application I missed in the upgrade. I don't remember seeing anything comparable back when I had a Windows laptop.
I'll also concur with others that it is mostly the OS itself that is more enjoyable to use (though using Finder takes a bit of an adjustment). A few things that are absolutely great and make life easier are Spotlight, multi-touch trackpad gestures, sleep/wakeup speed (open the lid and it is ready to go in seconds), wifi connection speed, bluetooth connection setup, having an error console so you can see what is screwing things up, TimeMachine, and Expose. And, generally speaking, while there are fewer Mac freeware/shareware apps available, I've found that those that are tend to be of much higher quality than those for Windows.
Understand, however, that if you've primarily or only used Windows before the first month or so on an Mac can be fairly frustrating.
posted by The Bishop of Turkey at 1:58 PM on September 7, 2009 [3 favorites]
I'll also concur with others that it is mostly the OS itself that is more enjoyable to use (though using Finder takes a bit of an adjustment). A few things that are absolutely great and make life easier are Spotlight, multi-touch trackpad gestures, sleep/wakeup speed (open the lid and it is ready to go in seconds), wifi connection speed, bluetooth connection setup, having an error console so you can see what is screwing things up, TimeMachine, and Expose. And, generally speaking, while there are fewer Mac freeware/shareware apps available, I've found that those that are tend to be of much higher quality than those for Windows.
Understand, however, that if you've primarily or only used Windows before the first month or so on an Mac can be fairly frustrating.
posted by The Bishop of Turkey at 1:58 PM on September 7, 2009 [3 favorites]
Also, iWorks, while still in many ways in its infancy (I'm looking at you, Numbers, you piece of crap – learn to add a new series to an existing graph already!) is much less frustrating to use than Microsoft Office. For example, Pages (the Word equivalent) correctly understands how to place an image in a document unlike that piece of shit Word that goes completely bonkers anytime you move an object around. What? You wanted to move that picture half an inch up? How about three pages up instead?
Keynote (the Powerpoint equivalent) allows you to exactly define the size or position of an object by typing in the value you want instead of only allowing you to drag the object around or resize with a mouse.
posted by The Bishop of Turkey at 2:07 PM on September 7, 2009
Keynote (the Powerpoint equivalent) allows you to exactly define the size or position of an object by typing in the value you want instead of only allowing you to drag the object around or resize with a mouse.
posted by The Bishop of Turkey at 2:07 PM on September 7, 2009
Evernote is available for the PC, although slightly less awesome.
posted by bertrandom at 1:35 AM on September 8, 2009
posted by bertrandom at 1:35 AM on September 8, 2009
The one that I'd recommend the most right now is Pagehand. It's a word processor that uses PDF as its native format. Brilliant idea. It's not executed to quite 100% yet, but it's still in active development so I would expect to see many updates in the near future.
posted by joshrholloway at 7:47 AM on September 8, 2009
posted by joshrholloway at 7:47 AM on September 8, 2009
OS X really excels in creative applications. I have a franken-mac (hackintosh) with nothing but Logic Pro 8 and Adobe CS3. Intuitive uninterrupted work flow. Windows has me for office related compatibilities (IE, business software, and dot matrix printers).
posted by bravowhiskey at 11:36 AM on September 8, 2009
posted by bravowhiskey at 11:36 AM on September 8, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by disillusioned at 12:44 PM on September 6, 2009