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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. Off Topic Note: Are you ready for a new web site that’s all about Apple? AppleHits covers the Mac, iPhone, iPod, and everything else that’s a hit at Apple. Click here for AppleHits. I’ve updated the Mac360 Store with over 100 new categories—More Macs, more iPods, more Mac books, more software. Click Here and select any category for more detail, or use the handy search function. Whenever you buy from Amazon through the Mac360 Store you help support Mac360. Click Here to save almost $10 on the new version of Photoshop Elements, and almost $20 on the latest version of Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac, available now from the Mac360 Store (it’s really Amazon). Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Entourage and more—barely $50 more than Apple’s iWork ‘08. Save money and support Mac360 at the same time. • Article by Ron McElfresh • Published on Thursday, December 20, 2007
• Category: News & Commentary • 31 Reader comment(s) • Email This • Digg This • Shop Now
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Talk Back to the folks at Mac360 Tom Kerley says:
What we all need, that is both Mac and PC users, is software that will track and record exactly what bandwidth and quality of service we are receiving from our ISPs vs. what we are paying for. I believe that there will be great demand for this software, because it will provide the needed documentation to present a claim for refunds and provide the means for applying needed pressure on the ISP to deliver what has been paid for. It should also provide a way to transport and/or poll this this data, with the explicit permission of the Mac or PC owner, for central collection points which could provide services like rating of ISPs by area served. — Posted on Fri Dec 21 at 5:38 pm by Tom Kerley
bugsnw says:
I wish Apple would dig down and do a VisualHub app that was super easy and worked with all types of video. This would release some of the potential of AppleTV. I have VisualHub, but it’s clunky. I’ll 2nd the OCR request. There just isn’t anything out there that’s powerful AND simple and inexpensive. It also needs to be able to understand the various types of documents it might be presented with, such as spreadsheets vs. text documents. Lastly, I’d love an Apple version of PowerGoo, right within iPhoto. Fluid and A.I.-enhanced manipulation of pixels would be super fun. Various programs that utilize powerful filters in Leopard are nice, but don’t quite hit the mark. Photoshop’s Liquify comes closest. Apple could make it crisper, easier, and more powerful, and even include extraction tools. — Posted on Fri Dec 21 at 12:52 am by bugsnw
Chod says:
Either bring back the Newton or develop software that integrates easily between the desktop and a PDA. I’ve often thought that Apple should have come up with a PDA that slips right into a laptop PCMCIA port and syncs instantly back and forth between the two. — Posted on Thu Dec 20 at 10:54 pm by Chod
cho says:
Canvas 11. Canvas started on the Mac and has continued up until this past summer. It’s present owner ACD has come out with a new version which is no longer Mac compatible. This program was the all-in-one program for professional illustrators, photographers, and DTP people who didn’t have deep enough pockets for the whole Adobe suite. Vector and raster happily coexisting in a single package. The utility that I don’t think exists that I could really use is a logging program that tracks all the documents I work with and logs them by name and time. — Posted on Thu Dec 20 at 10:45 pm by cho
DavidK says:
I really miss the classic ‘Jade’ slideshow and image viewer program. None of the current crop has the same set of options. I miss being able to pause a slideshow, scan through the images shown up to then in the slideshow, and then open desired images from within the slideshow. — Posted on Thu Dec 20 at 10:33 pm by DavidK
Ryan says:
A simple finance app added to iLife. It should track my checkbook, savings, credit cards, and loans. Give me simple reports and budgeting tools. — Posted on Thu Dec 20 at 7:23 pm by Ryan
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