Softwares needed on mac?

Hi,

I have totally been a Windows guy till now, and do not have much knowledge about Macs. I am planning to go for Macbook unibody now. But I am not sure if I need to buy any other extra softwares along with it. My main considerations are:

1. Microsoft Office compatibility
2. For photo editing I'll be using PS only.

Can anyone here help me in understanding, as to what all softwares/applications come with Mac as default? And what all do we need to buy extra for general usage? Do I need any antivirus (oops I am from Windows world )? How can I install windows on Mac, if I ever need to? Do I need any other specific softwares for that?

Any help in understanding the Mac world is highly appreciated.

Edit: I am planning for Macbook 13.3'' 2.0 GHz, 4GB RAM, 250GB. Is this a good configuration for Mac?

Thanks

Hi there Deepak.

1) There is a version of MS Office for the Mac produced (I use mine frequently). There are other (cheaper) alternatives that also boast full compatibility with the Windows equivalent products.

2) There is a Photoshop version for Mac also. You might also look at Aperture.

3) Take a look at the Apple website for information on buying a Mac and transitioning from a PC -- http://www.apple.com/g​etamac/faq/

4) There's no need for Antivirus on a Mac. Although there have been instances of Viruses/Worms being written for Macs, their occurance rate is so low that it's not worth bogging your system down by using an Anti-Virus product.

5) Yes, you can install Windows on a Mac (provided you have a Windows license to do so). Look at Bootcamp or Parallels (I use Parallels myself as it's far more flexible).

Pete pretty much summed it up... So I'll just chime in on what I have installed on my MacBook Pro. My Mac Pro is about the same way.

Besides iLife and the typical Mac software I have installed:

Adobe Photoshop CS4 (Image Editing/Art)
Apple Aperture 2 (Photo Workflow)
Picasa 3 (Just to make photo cd's for work) - Free
Apple Final Cut Studio 2 (Video/3d Motion editing)
HandBreak (Neat little program to convert movie files) - Free
NeoOffice (Very good Office alternative) - Free
NVu (HTML editor) - Free
Vuze (Torrent Downloader) - Free
EyeTV (Cable/TV)
VMWare Fusion (Virtual PC to run WIn7, XP and Linux)
OnyX (System Utility/Cleanup) - Free
Snaps Pro X (Screen Capture)
Little Snitch (Firewall)
UnRARX (RAR for Mac) - Free
CandyBar (Makes OS X look even better)
FireFox (Of course) - Free
Spyder2Express (Somthing's better than nothing)
TubeTV (Because I'm a thief) - Free
VLC (Quicktime Doesn't Play it all) - Free
Quicktime Pro (Because I can convert in HQ & save MOVs)
Windows XP (Need it for work) - Virtual PC
Windows 7 (Because I'm a developer) - Virtual PC

If there is not at "- Free" behind it then it costs something.

Thanks guys. That was a real help. From what you guys mentioned, I think I can start with just the basic version. Later as per the need, I can go for MS Office for Mac.

Maxxum, Can I have a VMWare on Mac for Windows OS? What is the best way on Mac to have dual boot capability, say I want to access all the files from both the OS (one at a time). Will Bootcamp be a help here?

Pete, why exactly do you prefer Parallels over Bootcamp? Can you please mention some pros and cons?

Thanks.

Also, can you please comment on the Mac configuration that I mentioned in my first post? Will this be a good one? I donot see myself doing real heavy PP or editing. Also I need a easy to carry laptop, which is the main reason to go for 13.3''

MaxxuM has listed most of what I have. Actually with the exception of Final Cut Studio and EyeTV, I've got the same applications.

Open Office is another free alternative to MS Office.
Try iPhoto and see if it fits your workflow. If you don't want to go into the depth of Photoshop, you can try Photoshop Elements (approx $100).

I'm not sure what you budget is but right now there is an aluminum unibody MacBook in the Apple Store for refurbs for $1299. Same specs as yours but 12% more processor speed. Add 4 GB RAM for about $60.

To run windows using Bootcamp, you have to reboot into Bootcamp and startup into Windows.

I use VMWare Fusion to use Windows. Windows then runs in a separate window (talk about irony) on my desktop. I can easily bring documents from one OS to the other without having to reboot.

Hope this is somewhat helpful.

Thanks Bill. Is it safe to look out for refurb? Somehow I have a view point, that companies put refurbs after fixing some issues with the original piece (may be minor fixes). Is that true?

Also, what is the best way to upgrade RAM? Should I upgrade while buying from apple itself, or buy the memory separately to save some green?

I would check the warranty offered on the refurb - I think it's the same as new. From the Apple.com store.

I was a bit apprehensive about upgrading the memory on my MacBook. Turned out to be a snap. You just need a good, small screw driver.

The instructions are in the user's manual.

bhardwaj.deepak wrote in post #7857568
Thanks guys. That was a real help. From what you guys mentioned, I think I can start with just the basic version. Later as per the need, I can go for MS Office for Mac.

Maxxum, Can I have a VMWare on Mac for Windows OS? What is the best way on Mac to have dual boot capability, say I want to access all the files from both the OS (one at a time). Will Bootcamp be a help here?

Pete, why exactly do you prefer Parallels over Bootcamp? Can you please mention some pros and cons?

Thanks.

Also, can you please comment on the Mac configuration that I mentioned in my first post? Will this be a good one? I donot see myself doing real heavy PP or editing. Also I need a easy to carry laptop, which is the main reason to go for 13.3''

bhardwaj.deepak wrote in post #7857706
Thanks Bill. Is it safe to look out for refurb? Somehow I have a view point, that companies put refurbs after fixing some issues with the original piece (may be minor fixes). Is that true?

Also, what is the best way to upgrade RAM? Should I upgrade while buying from apple itself, or buy the memory separately to save some green?

You have two options - Bootcamp or Virtualization. Bootcamp is a dual boot method. Either you're doing PC or your in Mac mode. The two OSes cannot directly talk to each other but can share files using a few method but the most recommended is using FAT32 partition. I use VMWare only because I really don't do much intensive work on the PC side. I use network tools like Active Directory snap-ins and MS Office 2007. VMWare is much slower than using Bootcamp - but I don't care much. If you want to run Photoshop or games then Bootcamp is the best way to go.

Refurbished computers can come from just about anywhere. They could have been displays at an Apple Store, laptops that were on lease, lemons sent back by customers... The list goes on and on. The short of it is this, they are put back together with Apple parts and have the same warranty as any other Apple product (1yr). I personally would buy one... and have

It used to be that Apple liked to over price their RAM. Not any more. They a are on par with most mid-level quality RAM these days. You'll save around 5% if you go with a third party. If it's worth the 5% savings, then go ahead, but that 5% goes toward the Apple Care coverage. I would buy from Apple.

What I would NOT buy from Apple however is any software besides the OS. You'll save a good penny by getting your software from Amazon, and if you're a student (or know one) then you'll want to buy from an Academic Store and save even more. I got my Photoshop CS4 for $198 - full version - from the Academic Superstore online. Final Cut Studio 2 however is a bulk license from work

Refurbs from the Apple Store are as good as new - they have even been tested. They have a new 1 year warranty.I have bought several over the years and never had a problem. I once even had an iMac with a 'silent' upgrade: it came with extra RAM, a larger HD, and better video card for the same price. YMMV.

I like Parallels because it's very similar in the way that Virtual Machines work on the PC. The guest OS is just a virtualised file. Because I don't use my Vista build that much (I only really used it so that I could connect my Zune to my Mac), I put the Vista OS VM image onto an external USB drive. That way, I didn't have to sacrifice the few Gb of disk-space on the Mac for something I didn't use that much.

Also, Parallels make it dead easy to work with. Copy/Paste/Drag/Drop between Mac and Vista, and the use of shared drives either way.

You can even overlay Vista onto Mac OS:-
http://the-aperture.com/mac-vista-screen.jpg

But for ease of use, I simply made Vista full screen and assigned it to it's own "Space" in OSX.

Aha. Seems like refurbs can be real good options. I'll check if I can grab some good deal. Thanks a lot guys for all the help. I think I am better now

I'm almost 1 year owning a Mac. The only software you need to buy for the Mac is:

Microsoft Office 2008
Photoshop Elements 6 OR Photoshop CS4

That's all you need. If fact, that's the only software you would need if you were on Windows. I find that these 2 programs are the only software left worth paying for. The "upgrade" software business model is becoming obsolete. It's one of the reasons why Microsoft is having such a hard time getting people to move from XP to Vista. Because frankly, software nowadays (acutally the previous version of the software!) does everything you need it to do and does it well. The software doesn't automatically stop working because a new version comes out.

Mac comes with everything else you would want for software and of course you can download other "essential" programs (Quicksilver, VLC for example).

I will be adding Lightroom (even though I think Adobe charges WAY too much) since I'm getting deeper into photography.

I've found OpenOffice does all that I need of an office suite and it's free. And it reads and writes MS files, documents and spreadsheets.

Dave, does it support MS documents both ways? I mean are the files generated with OpenOffice fully compatible with MS Office? Any known version dependency?

I hate Office 2008. It is buggy. I've become a big fan of iWork.