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What Mac Software Do You Want That Doesn’t Exist Yet?
Not just features. There’s always some feature we want in OS X or in the software we use. What applications or utilities do you want that just don’t exist on the Mac? I’ve been grumbling recently about the total number of applications and utilities on my Macs. Including the major apps that come with OS X Leopard, Mail and Safari, iCal and Address Book, I still have over 100 software titles on my Macs. There’s all the Apple suites-- iWork, iLife, FinalCut Studio, Logic Studio, Aperture. Plus, I’ve just upgraded to Photoshop CS3 (I tend to skip a generation or two). I’ll consider upgrading to Microsoft Mac Office next year. The major software titles and suits, from Apple and other notable publishers, constitute a wide spectrum of software requirements, yet I have dozens of other applications and utilities, some free, most not, that do this or that. Each function is important enough to shell out money and time. The Mac has thousands and thousands of software titles-- some superbly crafter, many are very good, and there’s a few clunkers here and there. But thousands nonetheless. Windows users may have more choices in software, but do they have software that is not available, in function or features, on the Mac?
The original question is easier asked than answered. What Mac software do you want that doesn’t exist yet? The answer requires some serious thought. There’s always a list of features that I want to see added to or modified on a particular piece of Mac software, including Mac OS X. But is there software-- an application or utility-- that we truly want and need, and the functionality just doesn’t exist yet? See if your Mac and requirements are similar to mine. I have a utility which manages all my serial numbers, login ID’s, and passwords. Yet, I have another utility which takes those login ID’s and passwords, and lets me login automatically, beyond the capability of Safari and Keychain. I have a notes taking application, yet a different one to handle all the little pieces of information I want to track each day-- bookmarks, graphics, images, notes, and so on. There’s an application on my Mac which handles project time and invoicing. There’s at least three text editors for programming. I have a couple of backup utilities, though SuperDuper! is used most. My Mac has utilities to rip DVDs for inclusion into iTunes. A utility to measure pixels on my screen. A utility to find files on my Mac and sort them by size, or date, or whatever. There’s utilities that offer more printing options than iPhoto. Others track web site and another tracks domain names.
There’s a couple of RSS readers, though only one I use daily. I have two FTP utilities, and more browsers than I ever thought possible on a Mac (how many do we need?). You see where this is going, right? I have plenty of Mac applications and utilities, probably more than I truly need, but each one provides some feature set or functions not available in OS X or elsewhere. What else do I need? What do I want that just doesn’t exist yet for Mac users? It’s tough to narrow that thought down to a specific application or utility, partly because I already have so much software with so much functionality that it’s scary. What else do I need? Of course, there are probably some specific business applications that are not the domain of normal Mac users, such as some kind of scientific research data modeling software, or software that tracks a company’s employees, and so on. It’s easy for Windows users to say that Windows has more software than the Mac because it’s true. But what software is there that we truly want and need that does not exist on the Mac? And does it even matter? After all, the Mac runs Windows and Linux quite easily, so whatever software applications and utilities run elsewhere, will actually run on the Mac quite well. Take a look at the software on your Mac. Then, ask the same question: ”What Mac software do you want that doesn’t exist yet?” Share your frustrations or insight with other Mac360 readers in the Comments section below. • Article by Ron McElfresh • Published on Thursday, December 20, 2007
• Category: News & Commentary • 31 Reader comment(s) • Email This • Digg This • Shop Now
« Previously How To Find The Right Software For Your Mac.
Nextly » This Things Is What You Need To Make Mac Life Better.
Talk Back to Kate, Ron & the Mac360 staff John Kubie says:
I’m much more interested in software titles that are disappearing. For me there are two that are critical: Canvas X. the publisher has announced “no new versions for the mac platform”. I rely heavily on Canvas. I’m not convinced that there are suitable replacements. Do I have to buy Adobe Creative Suite to replace Canvas’ functionality. Not only is this expensive and the learning curve difficult, I’m not convinced that creative suite can do all of what Canvas can do. FrameMaker. Again, Adobe has announced “No new frameMaker for macs.” The current mac version runs only in classic, so it doesn’t work on intel macs or with Leopard. FrameMaker is generally described as the only long-document creation tool. Its a mystery why it is disappearing. A lot of apple’s documentation appears to have been written in FrameMaker. — Posted on Thu Dec 20 at 6:09 pm by John Kubie
jsk says:
Peter: The software you want is called PhoneValet. Been using it for years and it does everything you ask for plus FAXing and it will even email your phone messages to you while you’re on vacation (plus a whole lot more). I’ll go out get a used Mac before I’d ever go back to a dedicated answering machine again, but it’s not necessary. Mine runs on my home office desktop/file server. — Posted on Thu Dec 20 at 6:00 pm by jsk
Nick says:
Outlook and Access. — Posted on Thu Dec 20 at 5:05 pm by Nick
madbard says:
speaking of solid statistical packages (R notwithstanding), nothing has ever replaced the wonderful Cricket Graph III as a simple yet powerful graphing program. you gets bits of it Excel (barf). i haven’t the graphing in Keynote (does Numbers do graphing). Programs like Stata are overkill and expensive! — Posted on Thu Dec 20 at 4:45 pm by madbard
Richard says:
Oh, that is easy. I want a native MacOSX design and driver set for personal scrapbooking cutters, like the Craft Robo (http://www.craftrobostore.com) or the Wishblade (http://www.wishblade.com). There are some out there, but they are pathetically built, and often require expensive things like ... Adobe Illustrator! — Posted on Thu Dec 20 at 4:38 pm by Richard
ZapPow says:
A modal word processor, or a modal LaTeX editor. — Posted on Thu Dec 20 at 4:25 pm by ZapPow
Peter says:
Date Line - 9:00 AM sharp on January 15th: Now there is iAnswer. It does it all. It recognizes incoming caller ID’s and allows me to tailor my out going message to the individual or group. It works in conjunction with Address Book and it’s Directories. I can delete incoming calls as needed and save the rare messages that I want forever, it is all up to me. It allows me to push through the drivel and go directly to the calls I really want to hear. And if I happen to be sitting in front of my Mac, it flashes the caller ID information on screen with details taken from my Address Book. Now I can choose to answer or let iAnswer do the work for me. — Posted on Thu Dec 20 at 4:01 pm by Peter
Doug says:
I would like a program similar to Adobe Captivate for the Mac, only less expensive. — Posted on Thu Dec 20 at 3:53 pm by Doug
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