Cross-platform programs Mac & PC
I'm two months into switching for PC to Mac and I'm still a little put out by having to give up the programs I use to do my work. In fact, in many cases I'm going back to WinXP via Parallels to do the work and returning to the Mac for fooling around, web surfing, etc.
What I'd like are cross-platform programs in these categories; if you have ideas, please jump in:
(a) layout
A simpler program than Pagemaker or InDesign (though I have both of those) for doing flyers, posters, handouts, etc. Something like MS Publisher but that runs on both WinXP and Intel Mac.
(b) web design
I don't do much of this, but at present use Sandvox/iWeb/Rapidweaver for one of my small sites, and MS Frontpage 2003 for my 850 page magazine site. I've tried Dreamweaver (steep learning curve and poor management controls for large site, too elaborate for small site), GoLive (ditto), and a bunch of smaller programs. Like the Sandvox/Rapidweaver model, but there is no way to convert my large (850 pages) site, and the programs would probably crash when faced with that many pages. This large site is not complex, and the design is dirt simple (it's a literary magazine), but it still need quarterly attention.
(c) There are others -- financial (I've accepted the Mac version of Quicken but it's lousy compared to the PC version, which itself isn't as good, in my view, as MS Money for WIn), photo manipulation and organizers (all the Mac programs (save iView) are slipshod, slow, wed to the imported library model (not my fave), and slow. Slower.
Basically what I'm finding is that while I prefer the Mac for the look and feel, and the operation, too--drag & drop executed pretty thoroughly--the PC has such a huge advantage in variety and type of programs available that it's hard to imagine how the Mac has lasted this long with 5% or 10% of the market.
What I'd like are cross-platform programs in these categories; if you have ideas, please jump in:
(a) layout
A simpler program than Pagemaker or InDesign (though I have both of those) for doing flyers, posters, handouts, etc. Something like MS Publisher but that runs on both WinXP and Intel Mac.
(b) web design
I don't do much of this, but at present use Sandvox/iWeb/Rapidweaver for one of my small sites, and MS Frontpage 2003 for my 850 page magazine site. I've tried Dreamweaver (steep learning curve and poor management controls for large site, too elaborate for small site), GoLive (ditto), and a bunch of smaller programs. Like the Sandvox/Rapidweaver model, but there is no way to convert my large (850 pages) site, and the programs would probably crash when faced with that many pages. This large site is not complex, and the design is dirt simple (it's a literary magazine), but it still need quarterly attention.
(c) There are others -- financial (I've accepted the Mac version of Quicken but it's lousy compared to the PC version, which itself isn't as good, in my view, as MS Money for WIn), photo manipulation and organizers (all the Mac programs (save iView) are slipshod, slow, wed to the imported library model (not my fave), and slow. Slower.
Basically what I'm finding is that while I prefer the Mac for the look and feel, and the operation, too--drag & drop executed pretty thoroughly--the PC has such a huge advantage in variety and type of programs available that it's hard to imagine how the Mac has lasted this long with 5% or 10% of the market.
iMac 20" Core Duo, Mac OS X (10.4.6), Bootcamp, Parallels, Win XP
