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Charles Moore Reviews Handpicked Software For Mac OS X
Confused about the avalanche of new software and utilities available for OS X? Robert Ellis has a solution for you -- his new book: “Handpicked Software For Mac OS X”, which I shall henceforth refer to in this review as HPSX. 
HPSX consists of a collection of mini software reviews by Mr. Ellis, a self-confessed Mac fanatic and former president of the Santa Fe Mac User Group, who says his selection was subjective -- he included software that he likes and that works well for him. However, he did also apply five objective criteria in deciding what to include: 1. All applications had to run natively (Carbon or Cocoa) under OS X. 2. Value -- if he found a freeware or shareware application that did the job required as well (or better than) a commercial software application, the less expensive alternative got the nod. 3. Design -- some titles were included because they are excellent examples of software design (e.g.: OmniWeb; Okito Composer). 4. Utility -- some utilities may do only one thing, but if they do it well, they made the cut. 5. Choice -- in imaging and 3D software especially, one application may not be the best for all users, so a variety are included. In all, 113 pieces of OS X Software are reviewed in HPSX, and interestingly, 115 separate software titles are included on the bundled CD as freeware, shareware, and commercial software demos. Obviously, crossover isn’t exact. While bundled CDs with computer books are less ubiquitous than they used to be, it’s a concept that makes excellent good sense with a book like this one. When you find an application or utility that sounds promising in the reviews, you can just stick the CD in your drive and try it out. If you like a particular application, you may want to download the latest version from the Web, or purchase a shrinkwrapped copy if it’s commercial software, but having all them all there on this CD is a great convenience for tire kicking and comparison shopping. 
On the CD you will find, for example, demos of Canvas, TIFFany, inDesign, PowerMail and illustrator; shareware titles: OmniWeb (4.1b1), Graphic Converter, and Synk; and lots of great freeware like BBEdit Light 6.1.2, TinkerTool, Visage, Word Service, Captain FTP, LimeWire, SpamStopper, and dozens of others. The software reviews in the book are divided into nine categories: Biz & Finance There is a nicely laid out Table Of Contents, a full index (hooray!), and four pages listing the contents of the CD-ROM. The software reviews themselves are simple and concise, many on a single page and none longer than three pages. The format includes Who? What? Where? (Web address); and How much? data at the top of the page, a brief review of the item, and a summary comment. There are also screen shot illustrations of many of the selections. Quite a few big guns are reviewed, especially graphics and imaging applications including Canvas, Corel Graphics Suite (which was used in producing this book), Illustrator, Bryce, TIFFany, and Painter. Other major programs in the lineup include ViaVoice, Virtual PC, Stone Studio, AppleWorks, Stuffit Deluxe, Toast Titanium, MYOB AccountEdge, and BBEdit. I found myself quite taken with this little book. I review software for a living, but I discovered some interesting programs that I wasn’t previously aware of in its pages, and for someone getting up to speed with Mac OS X, it will be an invaluable resource, well worth the modest $17.95 price tag. The bundled CD with a book this inexpensive makes it an excellent value. Having 115 sample applications at your fingertips will be a significant time saver when you’re checking out software. What didn’t I like? There isn’t much to complain about. My only major criticism is Ellis’s choice of text fonts; everything from the cover title to the index is done in sans serif -- Gill Sans for the body text and Base Monospace for the cover. This is partly a matter of taste I suppose, but I don’t like sans serif for reading, and IMHO, this privately published book would have looked more professional with a different choice of fonts. I hasten to add that aside from the font selection, the book does look very professionally done. Oh yes, I also had the darndest time getting the software CD to eject. It kept telling me that it was in use, and I couldn’t find anything to Force Quit in Force Quit. I eventually had to log out and then log back in again to get it to eject. Not a big thing, but a nuisance. These niggles aside, for $17.95, you can’t fault this book for value. It gets a full five-A Applelinks rating.
Handpicked Software for Mac OS X: For more information or to buy this book, visit:
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