When I made the switch to Mac OS X, I spent a lot of time trying to find equivalents to many of the applications I relied on in Windows. Here is a list of software that I consider essential, in no particular order. I'm sure there is stuff I'm forgetting, but this is a good start.

Office Applications
iWork 09: Apple's flagship productivity suite. Keynote is the best presentation software on the planet, period. Pages is a nice blend of word processing and page layout and I haven't had a need to use the Numbers spreadsheet yet.

Email, Calendar, Contacts
iLife 09: The standard applications that come with every Mac. The biggest adjustment is switching between Mail, iCal and Address Book instead of having everything in one place like Outlook on Windows.

Remote Desktop
Remote Desktop Connection: Microsoft's version of Remote Desktop for Mac OS X.

Font Management
Linotype Font Explorer X: Probably the best font manager I've ever seen on any platform and they give it away for free.

Video
VLC: the video player for everything that the Quicktime Player won't play.

MPEG Streamclip: Very useful video processing application. If you need to convert video from one format to another, this is where I would start.

Graphics Creation
Adobe Creative Suite 4: Still the leader on all platforms. Works the same as Windows with full file compatibility. Kind of spendy and starting to get bloated with features.

OmniGraffle Pro: Diagramming application that is much easier to use than Visio.

Pixelmator: Very streamlined application that can gives Photoshop-like capabilities at a fraction of the cost.

Web Development
Coda: Most awesome web creation tool if you like to mess with raw HTML or PHP.

RapidWeaver: Really nice tool for quickly putting together a site with pre-created templates. The fastest way to put together a nice looking static website with photo galleries, movies, blogs, etc.

Program Launcher
Spotlight: In Leopard, just hitting Command-Space and typing part of the name of an application is my favorite way of launching programs.

Quicksilver: Seemingly simple but with a wealth of depth, it quickly becomes an essential way of interacting with your computer. (With Leopard, I'm not using Quicksilver any longer)

Screen Shots and Screencasts
Skitch: Sweet little screenshot application with an interesting GUI and nice feature set.

Little Snapper: More extensive screenshot application that can snap entire web pages.

Text Editors
Text Wrangler: A free, very capable text editor.

Textmate: a very powerful text editor that developers and Unix geeks rave about. Very useful since it offers syntax coloring and code expansion for a large range of programming languages.

PDF Editing
PDFPen: useful application for editing, marking up, merging or splitting PDF documents. Much lighter weight and easier to use than Acrobat Pro.

Image Viewers
Preview: In Leopard, Preview has gained some great new features and it really takes the cake over any other image viewers I've seen.

Note Taking
Yojimbo: a really clean application that has become the place where I stash everything. I put notes, web clippings, reciepts, serial numbers, etc. and fills much of the functionality of Microsoft OneNote for me.

Backup
SuperDuper: Simple yet powerful backup application. Easily creates bootable images and can even backup via block-level differentials for fast incremental backups.

Drivers
SteerMouse: the standard Mac mouse tracking and acceleration algorithms are whacked, especially if you are coming from Windows. Steermouse gives you control over this as well as all of the buttons on your mouse without having to load crappy Logitech or Microsoft drivers.

Compression
The Unarchiver: expands virtually any type of compressed or archived file.

Database Management
Sequel Pro: good application for managing MySQL databases using a native Cocoa application.

FTP
Transmit: Top notch FTP program. Great UI and neat features.

Tweaks and Modifications
OpenTerminal: allows you to open a Terminal window with the path of the current Finder window. (Note: drag it to the Finder’s toolbar so you can use it in every window)
KeyFixer: Changes the behavior of the Home and End keys so they behave more predictably (if you’re used to the Windows behavior).

Windows Interoperability
MacDrive: this is actually Windows software for mounting HFS+ formatted volumes. Helpful if you are using Bootcamp.

Since my last roundup on laptop bags, I ended up exchanging the Booq Boa for a slightly smaller bag, the Booq Folee 2M, since the Boa was just too large for everyday carry. In short, this bag has completely changed my views on what makes an effective laptop case. Two things that I had mentioned that really bothered me are present on this bag: dual carry handles and a large flap opening. Contrary to my expectations, these features are so well implemented that I no longer consider them to be problems. Because the flap does not need to be pulled back to access the laptop compartment or the main compartment, I find it much less obtrusive.

This case has a surprisingly large carrying capacity. I can comfortably put two large technical books in the main compartment which is useful sometimes. One of my favorite features is the magnetic closures on the main flap as well as the interior pockets. They really help keep the things in place without noisy velcro or zippers. Overall, this is one of the finest bags I have ever purchased and I highly recommend it.

I’m a stickler for an effective laptop bag and I’ve gone through quite a few of them over the years. I wanted to share some thoughts on some of the bags I’ve used and whey they did or didn’t work out for me.

The thing to keep in mind is that my primary machine is a 15” MacBook Pro and that I consider my laptop bag to be my mobile office. Because I travel and give presentations quite a bit, my bags tends to be fully loaded with gear so that I have pretty much everything I need to set up shop anyplace.

I always seek out bags that have a single carry handle rather than two handles that must be clasped together. Lugging around a bag by squeezing two handles together just seems like poor ergonomics to me. I also don’t like bags that have a gigantic flap that must be opened to access the contents. I understand the whole “bike messenger” thing, but I rarely find myself delivering ungainly parcels on a bicycle. If I want to fetch a pen, I don’t want to feel like I’m opening the flap of a tent.

Logitech Kinetik 15” Briefcase
Interesting design and materials in this case. It appears to a rigid case at first glance, but the material has give to it with a soft, rubber-like finish. The bag is designed so that it balances upright when sat down, rather than slumping over on its side. Very nice until you unzip one side of the case that is loaded with gear and it falls over. the semi-rigid materials also means that the bag is always going to be the same size, even if it is empty. The two-handle design almost automatically disqualified this model, but the unusual appearance and materials tempted me to try it out.



Good

• Sleek, streamlined look (if that appeals to you).
• Balances upright when closed.
• Pretty good interior pocket layout.

Bad

• Must fully unzip a side to get to gear (which might make bag tip over).
• Semi-rigid materials means that bag is always full size, even when empty.
• Two carry handles.

Oakley Computer Bag 2.0
Very well designed bag that I have used to travel all over the world. More pockets and pouches than you can shake a stick at. High-tech, rugged appearance with easy access to flat storage on the back. Also comes with a nice mesh bag for storing cables and other messy items.



Good

• Well designed interior storage with many pockets and pouches.
• Quick access to external pockets with quick-release clasps.
• File dividers alongside laptop compartment.
• Solidly built rubberized carry handle.

Bad

• Metal parts of sling strap squeak when you walk.

Oakley Vertical Computer Bag 3.0
Excellent bag that offers fantastic features in a compact package. If you don’t need to carry a lot of files or books, or you travel light, this bag is highly recommended. The slim profile means that it doesn’t offer the same level of protection as other larger bags.



Good

• Well designed interior storage with a good selection of pockets and pouches.
• Horizontal gadget pocket provides quick access to flash drives or other small items with external zipper.
• File dividers alongside laptop compartment.
• Useful side pouches and hidden mesh water bottle holder.
• Nice beefy carry handle.

Bad

• Metal parts of sling strap squeak when you walk.
• Little storage for books or other larger items.

Booq Boa M
Newest bag in my collection. Nice design, although a little on the large side. Very high quality materials plus water resistance. I’ll be updating this post with my experiences after I get a chance to use it for a few weeks.



Good

• Well designed interior storage.
• Large internal storage capacity for those big reference manuals and other large items.
• Nice sling strap (appears to be made of seatbelt material).
• Really comfortable carry handle.

Bad

• A little on the large side.
• External pocket isn’t as easy to get to as I would like.

AVCHD footage is approximately 2 Mb per second which is pretty good compression, especially for HD content. Unfortunately, you can't edit raw AVCHD .mts files on a Mac, even though iMovie 08 and Final Cut Express 4 both claim to "natively" support AVCHD. What they actually support is transcoding of AVCHD footage from the camera to Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC) format on import. AIC files are optimized for realtime editing and they take up about 8 Mb per second* of footage, which uses up disk space pretty quickly.

* These numbers are just based on my personal observations, and compression ratios vary due to the variable encoding rates, but they are in the ballpark for my Sony HDR-CX7 camcorder capturing AVCHD footage at 960 x 540 resolution through iMovie 08.

I've been experimenting with editing footage from my Sony HDR-CX7 HD Camcorder in iMovie 08. It seems that some people are having problems getting the camcorder to work properly with iMovie 08 and here is the process that is working for me.

Importing footage directly from the camcorder

• Connect the dock to the Mac with the USB cable.
• Place the camcorder in the dock and power it on.
• You should see a menu asking which method you'd like to use to connect the camera.
• Press the Computer button.
• The Memory Stick icon should appear on the Finder desktop.
• Launch iMovie 08
• iMovie with automatically detect the camcorder and prompt you to import video.

I've been a a fan of hard drive camcorders ever since I purchased a JVC Everio GZ-MG50 a couple of years ago. The convenience of not dealing with tapes plus instant random access to the footage really made the recording and editing process more streamlined. However, the quality of the MPEG-2 video was not as good as DV and most mainstream video editing applications seem to have a hard time dealing with MPEG-2.

Thus, it was a nice surprise to see that iMovie 08 supports editing of all the major video formats outside of DV such as MPEG-2 and newer formats such as AVCHD (Advanced Video Codec High Definition) and the MPEG-4 standard H.264.

I've found that recompressing standard definition video with MPEG Streamclip to H.264 format yields much smaller files: on the order of 1/20 the size of DV footage and 1/3 the size of MPEG-2. There is very little, if any, quality loss evident in the video re-encoded as H.264 and I'm quite happy to use this format moving forward since it appears to be the format that is gaining acceptance across the board, e.g., Flash 9 and YouTube are both supporting H.264 these days.

I'm in the process of converting my old DV and MPEG-2 footage to H.264 using MPEG Streamclip. It's time consuming, but it yields tremendous savings in disk space.

I just picked up one of Apple's new aluminum keyboards which is incredibly slim and quite nice to type on, contrary to appearances.

The problem I've run into is that it lacks the vestigial "scroll lock" key that is generally on the right hand side of the function key row. Most KVM switches use a double-tap of the scroll lock key to invoke a switch of input. After much searching of Google, I ended up purchasing a new switchbox: the Belkin Flip Wireless. It's pretty nice since it features a small wireless "puck", that when depressed invokes the input switch. Now I can switch between my Mac and Thinkpad and I really like the tactile click when I switch between devices.

I didn't think converting my Outlook email would be such a hassle. After much casting about for solutions including the purchase of O2M from Little Machines and Emailchemy from Weird Kid Software, I will detail what worked for me.

O2M did a good job converting my Contacts and Calendar over to Address Book and iCal. Mail was not handled quite so well. However, for $10, it's hard to complain. Emailchemy is the only tool I could find that could directly convert an Outlook .PST file to Mail.app format. Unfortunately, I had hundreds of messages convert with no subject, dates, recipients, etc.

What I eventually discovered is that the best way to convert is as follows:

1. Open Outlook Express (or Windows Mail on Vista) and import all of your Outlook items.
2. Dig around in the Outlook Express options looking for the message store location. It will be something like C:\Documents and Settings\tlindsey\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\{5246B4AF-59D3-45E3-90FF-BC8F6E2732D4}\Microsoft\Outlook Express.
3. Open the message store location and copy these files over to your Mac.
4. Run Emailchemy and choose to convert Outlook Express to Mac OS X Mail.
5. Open Mail.app and choose Import Mailboxes and select the newly converted email folder.
6. You should now have a folder in Mail.app called "Imported" which will contain your mail.

So far, using this method, all of my messages have come across intact.

I'm attempting to switch back to the Mac for the third time in the last four years. Back in the old days, before the Web changed everything, I was a dedicated Macintosh advocate. However, when Apple essentially dropped support for enterprise customers in the mid-nineties (and discontinued the Newton, a device way ahead of its time) I decided it was time to start figuring out this whole Microsoft Windows thing.

In any event, back in October of 2003, I picked up a 15" Aluminum PowerBook G4 on the day Mac OS X Panther shipped. It was quite an event. People were lined up and crowded outside the UTC Apple Store and they would cheer when someone would walk out of the store with a new Mac. It was quite an experience. Unfortunately, I spend a lot of my time developing software for Windows and I had hoped that Virtual PC on a G4 would allow me to run applications such as Visual Studio quickly enough to be productive. I had also hoped that Entourage would sync with my Exchange server seamlessly enough to not miss Outlook. Unfortunately, I ended up going back to Windows XP after being frustrated by the inability to run both Mac OS X and Windows on the same computer.

In May of 2006, I picked up my first Intel Mac, a 13" MacBook the first day that it shipped. It was a beautiful piece of hardware with a wonderful flat keyboard, bright screen and good performance. Unfortunately, it damn near burned a hole in my kitchen table it ran so hot. So hot that Apple gave me a full refund when I brought it in to be looked at.

Last week, I picked up a 15" Aluminum MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz with 4 Gb of RAM and a 250 Gb hard drive. VMWare Fusion for Mac is allowing me to run my Windows software well enough and quickly enough that it can definitely serve as a replacement for my Thinkpad. I do sorely miss the ability to draw directly on the screen of my Thinkpad X60 TabletPC, but I'll just keep it as a dedicated art machine. Hopefully Apple will release the tablet Mac that they've reportedly been working on for years.

I'll be posting on my experiences attempting to switch from Windows Vista to Mac OS X over the next few weeks.

After watching the Ryan Church "Intro to Painter DVD", I decided to try out Painter and see if I can make it work for me. Painter has a tremendous amount of depth and the Ryan Church DVD was invaluable in giving me a good overview of how the program works.

This image is a very different approach for me since I'm used to tight line drawings rather than loose painterly stuff. However, I really enjoyed experimenting while creating the image below, my first value study completed with Painter.