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Odyssey reader Robert Domingo writes:
Hi Charles, Hi Robert; That's a question worth a column, and even then I will have to generalize greatly. There are now over 5,000 OS X native applications according to Steve Jobs. ;-) First, my condolences on the demise of your old iMac. My WallStreet PowerBook also died suddenly last August. Something about those 1998 machines? As for your software question, it of course depends a great deal on what you want to do with your computer. I use mostly OS X native software in OS X, but there are still a few applications that aren't available for OS X that keep me booting Classic Mode. They are: WannaBe - the little text-only browser by David Pierson that is one of my most valuable tools for working around the limitations of being on a slow, rural dialup connection. There are some text-based OS X browsers like Lynz and Links, but they are nowhere near as slick as WannaBe, with its menu commands to select a full browser when you need one, and other user-friendly features. Color It! 4.1 - I still haven't found an OS X native graphics application that I like as well as Color It! However, Graphics Converter probably comes closest for my purposes, and its an excellent application, but I find Color It! significantly faster and slicker for the sort of graphics stuff I do. If you buy a new iMac, it will of course have AppleWorks, with its graphics modules, bundled. I also still use the old Mac OS NotePad in Classic. There are gazillions of Mac OS X native note pads, but the old one does what I want it to do, and it's very fast - opens instantly. I understand that OS X native versions of both WannaBe and Color It! are in the works, and when they are available, I'll find a substitute for the NotePad probably won't start Classic much anymore. There are also diagnostic and maintenance applications, and aside from the bundled OS X Disk Utility, I'm still OS 9 only there (Norton Utilities and AlSoft Disk Warrior). Norton, as well as MicroMat's Drive 10 are now OS X native. We're still waiting for Disk Warrior. Pretty well everything else I use for production on a regular basis in OS X is OS X native. Browsers: I use iCab a lot, and also the Mozilla/Chimera/Netscape trio. I'm also rapidly developing an appreciation for Safari, and OmniWeb and Opera have their devotees. Plenty of choices here, and they are all free or inexpensive. Email Client: If you're a Eudora a user like I am, the transition to OS X is almost transparent. I can use the same Eudora Folder for both the OS X and OS 9 versions of Eudora that I run (via alias). The X interface is more attractive, but everything works pretty much the same. I also use Nisus Email for a few on my email accounts, as I really like its quick send feature. However, if backwards compatibility to OS 9 will not be an issue for you, there is of course the built-in OS X Mail app, and there are a bunch of other email solutions in OS X. Word Processor: As noted, if you buy a new iMac, it will be bundled with AppleWorks 6, which has a pretty good word processor. I got AppleWorks 6 with my new iBook, but I haven't really tried it out yet. I do most of my word crunching in Tex Edit Plus, of which there are both OS X and OS 9 versions, but the OS version has quite a few extra cool new features. When I need a full word processor, I usually go to either Nisus Writer (which is still a Classic app) or ThinkFree Write, which has OS X and OS 9 versions on the same CD. The OS X native Nisus Writer is coming soon, based heavily on Okito Composer, which I really liked, and I expect that folks who buy the current Classic version of Nisus Writer now will get a healthy discount the OS X version when it's released. Mariner Write is also a nice little OS X native word processor, and the new Mellel WP is very interesting. Spreadsheet: I don't really use spreadsheets much, but for anything I would do with them, the spreadsheet modules in AppleWorks or ThinkFree Office (Calc) would be amply capable. Mariner and Mesa also make non-Microsoft spreadsheet programs for OS X. FTP Client: There are a bunch of good ones available in OS X. I use Captain FTP Pete mostly, but RBrowser Light is also a good, free alternative, and there are others. Desktop Database: Plenty of choices here too. I use Notepad Deluxe, which is file transparent between its OS X and OS 9 versions. As for restoring Classic OS functionality to the OS X Finder, the only thing I really miss badly his windowshading, and Unsanity Software's Windowshade X takes care of nicely. For the past three weeks or so I've been working without windowshading at all, and getting along reasonably well, although I still miss it, and have proved to myself that in this context it isn't just a matter of getting used to the OS X way of doing things. There really is no adequate substitute for windowshading in OS X Hiding applications and collapsing documents to the Dock just don't do it for me. Unsanity also makes a customizable Apple Menu restorer called Fruit Menu. Sig Software has one called Classic Menu, and also a little shareware application called Drop Drawers which brings back popup folders and a lot more. However, that's barely scratching the surface of what's available in OS X Finder hacks. Keep watching Shareware Beat. That's the basic suite of applications I use in either OS X or OS 9. You may have substantially different needs and tastes than I do, but you should be able to find good substitutes for your old Classic apps. You will get a AppleWorks and a gaggle of Apple Digital Hub iApps with a new iMac, and that will get you started nicely. The ThinkFree Office suite is only 50 bucks, and provides pretty decent file compatibility with MS Office. The rest of the applications I mentioned here are mostly either freeware or inexpensive shareware, although a few are commercial software. You could buy a good working suite for under two hundred fifty bucks, so switching to OS ex need not be a bank-breaker for software upgrades. I hope this helped some with your deliberations [chuckle] Safari bugs Half full life, half empty advice From Charles Charles, RE: anonymous. Friend, you responded well for someone lambasted and lampooned, unfairly in my view. And I agree with you, you are definitely not a liberal except with giving your grace. Otherwise the anonymous writer does offer some savvy OS X computing advice, albeit couched in a vitriolic venomous rhetoric. Maybe he is having a bad day, or maybe for his own sake he should be advised to not read your columns anymore. He sounds almost ready to explode on some poor soul in a mall. Charles
Hi Charles;
Thanks for the kind words and the vote of confidence.
Charles From John H. Farr Hi Charles! Re this:
Re this:
Regards,
Hi John;
Thanks! (I think ;-) )
Gotta set you straight on the Progressive Conservatives, though. These days they are more liberal than many prominent members of the Liberal party. On the other hand, the Liberal premier of British Columbia (who is currently in hot water after getting busted in Hawaii for driving with a blood alcohol level of .14) is more conservative than almost any member of the federal Progressive Conservative Party. Some PCs are PC more ways than one, and farther to the left than the socialist (NDP) party.
Arrrgh! why did i start trying to explain Canadian politics Nobody understands Canadian politics -- least of all Canadian politicians.
Charles
From Jamey Key If youre interested: Right after installing the first release of Safari, I did begin having problems printing from any app. I threw away the Safari app (and all other files with Safari in the name) but it did not correct the problem. I had to reinstall 10.2.1 and then 10.2.3. It worked then, and has with a reinstall of Safari v.48 and now v.51 I do however crash at least twice a day. “OSX doesn’t crash”. Give me a break. Jamey Key
Hi Jamey;
I like Safari, and it ISvery fast on some pages I've discovered, but I find it buggy.
Are you saying Safari crashes, or is your whole system crashing?
In general, I find the system itself stable as a rock, but OS X applications more prone to "unexpected quits" and hangs than their OS ( counterparts.
Charles
The OS X Odyssey archives may be accessed here: Note: Letters to Moore's Mailbag may or may not be published at the editor's discretion. Correspondents' email addresses will NOT be published unless the correspondent specifically requests publication. Letters may be edited for length and/or context. Opinions expressed in postings to Moore's MailBag are those of the respective correspondents and not necessarily shared or endorsed by the Editor and/or Applelinks management. If you would prefer that your message not appear in Moore's Mailbag, we would still like to hear from you. Just clearly mark your message "NOT FOR PUBLICATION," and it will not be published. CM
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