While all programs for the Mac are awesome in their own right, there are a few
that really stand out from the crowd. The programs below are simply a few that I
have come across. If you know of a program that really deserves recognition, share
the wealth! *grin*
All prices from beyond.com,
unless otherwise noted. If no price is listed, the program can be downloaded wherevere
shareware/freeware is found.
Adobe PhotoDeluxe: One of the greatest - and more reasonably priced - image editors
on the market for Macs. Compared to the pricy PhotoShop ($630 for the most recent
version), this underdog is a steal at $40. Features include making calendars and
greeting cards, a supercool gradient fill filter, and all sorts of tutorials on how
to antiquate as well as restore pictures. You can even get it totally FREE with the
purchase of some scanners and digital cameras.
Visual Page: Although the $70 price tag may be a deterrant to some people, this program
is really awesome for a person seriously interested in maintaining a good quality
web page. It allows you to create web pages without having any prior knowledge of
HTML, which is a blessing to beginners, but the Edit Source feature allows more advanced
webmasters to add their own personal touch. If you're not convinced, try the free
demo version (now running rampant across the Net).
Eric's Solitaire Sampler: What can I say, I'm hooked. It comes free in the software
package with most Macs, so look in your Applications or Documents folder to see if
you have one, too. Definitely worth the hours you're doomed to spend sifting through
endless decks of virtual playing cards...
Mac OS8: So it's not a program.. big deal.. It's still a necessity. If you're reading
this and you haven't upgraded to OS8, you don't know what you're missing. Awesome
background graphics, way useful features, and a 3D Teddy Bears background that'll
rock your world. The bears enough are worth the $100, but the supreme user-friendly
layout and the neverending list of helpful features don't hurt, either. This is by
far the best investment you can make on your Mac for the holidays.
ResEdit: Admittedly not for everyone, this program allows you to rewrite the source
code for your application programs to form them to your own personal needs. You can
change the AOL "Welcome" sound to the Canadian national anthem, swap the
catchy Writing Center tune to a WAV of your favorite cartoon quote, add a larger
color palette to your favorite graphics program, make your look like a little spinning
beach ball, and more. Well, that's what *I* use it for. If you're very, VERY confident
in your program source writing skills, check this free program out. If not, stay
far, far away. Note: the features listed here require outside help.. I got the
beach ball and color palette from a freeware forum, and the sound ideas were given
to me by a friend.. all this program does is allow you to rewrite the code.
Kaleidoscope: Sick of that boring gray layout on your Mac? Wanna have a snappy violet
menu bar with silver squiggles for scroll bars? Or perhaps green slime title bars
would fit you better. Whatever your fancy, Kaleidoscope does it all. This program
allows you to change pretty much all the constants of the computer face: menus, titles,
scroll bars, alert boxes - that type of thing. The version I downloaded had Apple
Platinum (the usual OS 8... very cool if you haven't got the new Appearance Extension),
BeBox (with little colored tags instead of title bars), Cubist (groovy 3D boxes everywhere),
Ice (LIGHT gray with a weird frosty touch), Lilac Who (my favorite.. purple everything
with gray tubes along some edges), Onyx (a black and yellow construction area type
scheme), Sherbert (light orange with a cool geometric scroll bar), System 7 (the
usual for earlier kinds - the standard Mac format without tthe 3D touch), Tea Rose
(another great one for females - pink roses everywhere!), and Silver Rainbow (dark
gray with neon opalescent patterns - think oil or bubble solution). The Kaleidoscope
Scheme Achive has hundreds of options to choose from, too. There's a shareware
fee of $20, and it can be downloaded from the Archives or any shareware forum.