Eventually, though, I switched to using a Mac. And, just as with my PC, I wanted to find a lot of open source software to meet my basic computing needs. I didn’t want to shell out the big bucks for Office or other such expensive pieces of software - I’d already spent enough. So I went hunting.
What follows is a list of twenty five pieces of software that are the cream of the crop of open source software for Macs. Not only is every piece of it free, many of them directly replace expensive software packages.
1. Firefox
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/
Replaces Internet Explorer and Safari
Safari is a very solid web browser out of the box, but it’s not nearly as extensible or useful as Firefox. With add-ons like Book Burro, FareFirst, and Package Mapping, plus the speed and reliability I’ve come to expect, Firefox is the only web browser for me.
2. Quicksilver
http://www.blacktree.com/
Unique but useful (productivity)
Quicksilver lets you set almost anything you can imagine in Mac OS as a
keyboard shortcut. This allows me to do things like start iTunes and
have it auto-play a specific podcast with a specific keyboard shortcut
(I have one that auto-plays This American Life,
for example). It’s a bit complicated at first, but once you get used to
it, it makes you feel massively productive and it becomes almost an
essential part of the OS.
3. Thunderbird
http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird/
Replaces Mail
For most purposes, the default Mac OS Mail does the trick, but I find
Thunderbird essential because it allows me features like auto-replying
to certain kinds of messages and far better IMAP support, and it’s
faster, too. Even better - it works identically both on my PC and on my
Mac.
4. Sunbird
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/sunbird/
Replaces iCal
I like iCal, but Mozilla Sunbird does one thing that iCal doesn’t -
two-way syncing with Google Calendar. When I’m traveling, I’ll use
Google Calendar at any terminal I’m at to print out tomorrow’s
schedule, make little changes, and so on. When I get home, it’s just a
click of a button and it all syncs up with Sunbird. That’s an amazing
feature for me and it makes Sunbird far superior to iCal.
5. AbiWord
http://www.abisource.com/download/
Replaces Microsoft Word
This is, by far, the best open source word processor for Macs. It
functionally replaces Microsoft Word for almost every purpose I’ve come
across and has a fast and slick interface to boot. This is the word
processing program I used to write my book with, in fact.
6. OpenOffice
http://www.openoffice.org/
Replaces Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint
Need to make spreadsheets or presentations on your Mac? OpenOffice
provides the tools you need for that (as well as word processing, but I
prefer AbiWord for that). I often use OpenOffice Spreadsheet for the
number calculations you see on The Simple Dollar, as well as using it
for tracking my net worth (as in this tutorial I wrote).
7. Seashore
http://seashore.sourceforge.net/
Replaces (for most uses) Adobe Photoshop
This is a fairly simple image editor that takes care of most of the
basic uses of Photoshop and is simple enough for most users to pick up.
This is a great solution for those who want to do simple image
manipulation but don’t want to shell out the big bucks for Photoshop.
8. Scribus
http://www.scribus.net/
Replaces Adobe Pagemaker (desktop publishing)
I’m actually elbow-deep in Scribus right now as I work on a special
side project. It’s a very powerful desktop publishing program, giving
you tons of freedom to lay out pages however you like. Another use: I’m
thinking about making a family newsletter to ship out in the Christmas
cards this year.
9. Adium
http://adiumx.com/
Replaces iChat
iChat is pretty slick, allowing me to chat in AIM and GTalk at the same
time, but what about all of the other chatting protocols out there.
Adium allows you to be on YahooIM, Windows Messenger, AIM, ICQ, and
several other messaging services at the same time with the same program.
10. OneButton FTP
http://onebutton.org/
Replaces “command line” FTP
On occasion, I need to FTP some files from one place to another
(usually from one computer to another within our home network, when I’m
too lazy to use a memory stick). OneButton FTP does the job in the
simplest and easiest way possible - much easier than the default
“command line” FTP.
11. Audacity
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Replaces/supplements GarageBand
Need to make audio recordings of your own? All you need is a microphone
of some sort and Audacity - and you can create podcasts, record music,
or pretty much anything else you can imagine. I’ve actually considered
using it to read aloud some bedtime stories for my kids in advance of
any traveling I might do.
12. Cashbox
http://www.fadingred.org/cashbox/
Replaces Quicken
This is a very nice personal
finance data manager for Mac OS. It doesn’t have quite all the bells
and whistles of Quicken, but it provides a strong feature set and a
huge number of different views of your personal finance state. If
you’re a Quicken fan but don’t want to drop the cash for a Mac version,
look into this one.
13. Vidalia
http://www.vidalia-project.net/
Unique but useful (privacy)
Many people are concerned about online privacy and don’t want their IP
address shared with web sites that they visit or file servers that they
access. Vidalia easily allows you to use proxy servers for your
accessing needs, enabling you to disguise your computer on the internet.
14. Books
http://books.aetherial.net/wordpress/
Unique but useful (book cataloguing)
This one’s just for fun, but I’ve found it very useful. It allows you
to catalogue all of your books, create reports, and so forth. I’ve been
using it heavily in conjunction with PaperBackSwap to help me as I read through a pretty big pile of classic literature.
15. Bean
http://www.bean-osx.com/
Replaces TextEdit
I use this software for the editing of virtually every post that
appears on The Simple Dollar. It’s a slick little editor with features
like automatic word counting that really help when you’re trying to
keep some semblance of control on the length of your articles.
16. GanttProject
http://ganttproject.biz/
Replaces Microsoft Project
This is an excellent tool if you’re involved in the management of large
projects with many staff members, particularly if budgeting is tight
(as Project can be expensive). One of my closest friends uses this for
mission-critical projects in the workplace.
17. Nvu/BlueGriffon
Now: http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/15699
Soon: http://bluegriffon.org/
Replaces Dreamweaver (HTML editing)
I prefer coding my HTML by hand, but many people prefer the aid of a
tool to help them with layout, and that’s what these provide. Nvu is a
bit outdated but is still very useful - the creator has moved on to a
new project, called BlueGriffon, which should be available soon.
18. Blender
http://www.blender.org/download/get-blender/
Unique but useful (3D graphics creation)
Blender is a magnificent tool if you like tinkering with 3-D graphics
creation. It’s perhaps overkill for most people, but if you’re involved
in graphic design at all, using and knowing Blender can be invaluable.
19. Colloquy
http://colloquy.info/
Unique but useful (IRC)
If you chat on IRC, Colloquy is essential software. For the
uninitiated, IRC is a very large network of chatrooms on various
specific topics, often developing their own culture. Colloquy is a
wonderful solution for IRC chatters on Macs.
20. FreeMind
http://freemind.sourceforge.net/
Unique but useful (brainstorming)
Whenever I’m struggling to organize my thoughts and ideas, I open up
FreeMind. Basically, it’s a tool that lets you toss out your thoughts
in an unorganized structure, then build connections between them
however you like. I often use it for posts where I have a collection of
thoughts and research notes, but I haven’t really decided how to order
them or tie them all together. It’s brilliant in any brainstorming
setting.
21. Celestia
http://www.shatters.net/celestia/
Unique but useful (planetarium)
If you’re a space buff (like I am), Celestia is incredible software.
It’s a great way to create star charts, help you identify good nights
for viewing constellations and other stellar objects, and simply
stumble around different views of the sky. I simply love looking at the
night sky, and Celestia is a wonderful free companion for this hobby.
22. Transmission
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/19378
Unique but useful (file sharing)
Many people like to upload and swap their own files with other users,
such as live recordings of concerts, recordings of their own
performances, free application software, and so on. BitTorrent is one
of the most popular protocols for doing this, and Transmission is
easily the best of the open source Mac clients for swapping them.
23. MacLibre
http://www.maclibre.com/
Supplements Software Update
Many of these software packages are updated fairly regularly by their
authors. MacLibre serves as something of a “Software Update” tool for
these things, fetching updates for you and helping you to easily
install them with just a click or two. It’s a great way of keeping up
to date on software updates for open software on a Mac.
24. Aleph One
http://source.bungie.org/get/
Gaming
Like games like Quake and Half-Life? Aleph One is an excellent open
source game in this vein, available for the Mac. The graphics are a bit
on the simple side, but online play is quite slick and one can’t argue
with the cost.
25. Battle for Wesnoth
http://www.wesnoth.org/
Gaming
The final choice on this list is a turn-based strategy game with a
fantasy theme. Battle for Wesnoth presents you with a wide array of
scenarios that require you to take turns moving pieces around the
landscape, thinking about your moves, and engaging in skirmishes. This
one ate up a lot of my hours a few years ago!
