GERALD DAVENPORT'S MACINTOSH HELP
(not that one really needs it on the Mac)
I have been Mac since day one—sometime in 1985—and although I have used windows in the past, all versions, I still find any bad day on a mac is much better than any good day on windows—You will not change me. (and please stop calling your computer a PC, because I have a PC [personal computer] and it's a Mac. Call it what it is: A windows computer. Or better yet: Wintel, and we use Mactel because they all use the Intel chip.. Oh wait some use AMD and others, so it is still a Windows computer unless you want to call it a WinAmd, or just call it a Dell, HP, Compaq, or peice of crap.
My MAc Info vs. Others
You have the internet and there are a plethora of websites that have both good and bad information and some with great information that changes on a daily basis. My information is what I have experience for many years, and although one does need to change with the times, I still have set ways that have been proven to work as things change.
I also research and try some, not all, of the new apps and services that are offered to the Mac and computing world. And I don't always use what is the best or most popular, I use what works for me.
To Each their own
Let us face it, I like some things you don't and vice versa; yet for those that have never tried or even have a clue about software that is out there, and also for those that have a closed mind about what software they use—I am somewhat like that—this is my list of preferred software applications that I use on a weekly, daily, if not hourly basis. I have been on the internet since 1990's and using a Mac from day one, I love to look at new software and try it out, but not many pass the test to stay on my Macs.
Resources
There is a Plethora of software to choose from. What software do you recommend to use?
see full listing and reasons
The popularity of the Mac, or I should say Apple products, since 2004 has brought many new users over to the Mac World.
The iPod started the craze, the Mac Book with its Intel chip kept it going, and now the iPhone is the buzz product of the year and possibly the decade—poeple are finally seeing the light that Apple is the better operating system, or at least the most fun with less headaches. There are more people using the Mac than ever before.
This is a good thing and also a bad thing.
The GOOD thing is that there is no shortage, nor will there be for sometime, of products for the Mac. Scanners, Printers, Backpacks, Hard Drives, Accessories, Software, Games, and so forth.
This is an in your face to all windows people who said there was never any software for the Mac years ago, which there always has been software but they never opened their eyes; anyway. We may not have had the over indulgence of software to choose from, but what we had was tight, clean, and very stable.
The BAD thing is that there is no shortage, nor will there be for sometime, of products for the Mac. OH THE IRONY
Yes, now we as consumers have to tread through the list of thousands upon thousands of new products and find what we think is the best one for us.
We are now in the same boat as those windows people who have had to sift through the frogs to find the prince all those many years before us. Downloading, installing, trying it out, deleting it—this task is much easier on a Mac—We now have the over indulgence of software to choose from, and finding the tight, clean, and very stable version of a particular genre is a more time consuming and daunting a task, especially for those that have no idea what they really need.
My biggest peeve is that there are too many renditions of a particular task, such as system maintenance that helps the common user to use unix commands. How many do we really need that do the same thing? They just look different.
Speaking about looks. There are so many programmers now, both young and old, that have come from the unix and windows world that they have no idea how to make a Mac looking application. Their apps are probably really good, but I will not use them if they are blocky and square looking.
Things are not all that bad. There are answers and help, but only for those that are looking for it. You cannot get it if you do not ask for it. Since you are you, you are looking for help, and it is here that you will find it.
I have sorted through a majority of items and have found the better ones to use. If you know of others that you think are better or want me to look into, I can do that, but I have very strict guidelines as to what makes an application worth using.
