Must have PowerBook software

It even allows for Airport management, if you are into wireless networking (3). A general purpose OSX tweak application is to be found in Cocktail (4). Trackpad provide a custom driver utility if you are unhappy with the built-in OSX Trackpad driver (5). If you are concerned about the temperature of your PowerBooks internal components the Temperature monitor (6) will give you a report of them. Don’t panic, though, the PowerBook is a well-maintained machine, and you’ll only usually hear the Fan come on if you are performing intensive tasks. The PowerBook comes with Airport-built in these days, so here are three applications which are very useful for wireless networking: Kismac (7), Macstumbler (8) and AP Grapher (9).

1 . http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/
2 http://personalpages.tds.net/~brian_hill/macjanitor.html
3 http://personalpages.tds.net/~brian_hill/brickhouse.html
4 http://www.macosxcocktail.com/
5 http://www.ragingmenace.com/software/sidetrack/index.html
6 http://www.bresink.de/osx/TemperatureMonitor.html
7 http://www.macstumbler.com/
8 http://www.chimoosoft.com/apgrapher.html
9 http://binaervarianz.de/projekte/programmieren/kismac/

3. Games
Though the smallest sized of the PowerBooks, the 12” can handle a wide variety of games. For the strategist in you Warcraft 3 (1) is a popular choice. For the Role-player there is Neverwinter Nights (2) or Diabalo2 (3), and for fans of first person shooters then Call of Duty is a popular choice (4). However, a word of caution, some of the most graphically demanding games (for example Unreal tournament 2004 (5)) may not play so well unless you turn the graphics settings down.

1. http://www.apple.com/games/articles/2002/06/warcraft3/
2. http://www.apple.com/games/articles/2003/07/neverwinternights/
3. http://www.apple.com/games/articles/2000/04/diablo2/
4. http://www.apple.com/games/articles/2004/04/facesofwar/
5. http://www.apple.com/games/articles/2004/03/unreal2004/

4. Miscellaneous
This combines everything else in an assortment of nice applications. For those of you who surf the Internet, but don’t like Internet Explorer or OSXs built-in Safari then Mozzila’s Firefox (1) could be the choice for you. If you own an Airport Express, or are a fan of internet radio, then NiceCast (2) is a must have application, allowing you to stream any audio from any application on your powerbook to your Internet Protocol (IP) address of choice. For the musician in you OSX iLife 2004 has Garage Band. However, for those who take it a little more seriously then Logic Express 7 is a great application (3).

1. http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/
2. http://www.rogueamoeba.com/nicecast/
3. http://www.apple.com/logicexpress/

This tip is complete (the numbers for DiskWarrior and Macjanitor applications need to be corrected in part two of the FAQ, and in part 2 the referenced links 7, 8, & 9 should be 9, 7, & 8 ). Also, it might be an idea to have the numbers as embedded links (sorry, I forgot to do this myself). This Tip was based on the thread : apple4life, "What are the MUST-HAVE share&commercial-wares", 08:04pm Oct 3, 2004 CDT , and I have tried to condense the best suggestions into this FAQ.

No worries Rod. It'd be better as a team effort anyway. I set myself a limit of 30, so if you could supply another 20, or so, then we could have a top 50 for the 12" Powerbook. I have drawn from outside the Apple4life thread too, as it is a common topic in the 12" forum.

Hi Rod great input. I think the extensive version would work best, so perhaps we should break things down further into the areas you suggest (this is fine by me:).

As for your details. Endnote illustrates some of the difficulties with Mac compatibility. Currently they are at Windows version 8.0, and there is a Mac v8.0 beta out which supports cite while you write for Mac Word 2004. We should also point out compatibility with Open Office, and others.

http://www.endnote.com/support/enwpchartmac.asp

Certainly there are alternatives to Filemaker, but $299 is pretty standard for these type of applications. Making it worth trying to get a hold of, if you can. Also, yes you are right, Access is not available with Mac Office 2004, but then it doesn't come with the Windows 2003 (student and teacher edition) either for example:-(.

Also, yes I sort of agree that perhaps we should try to avoid prices as these change, and in many cases there are discounts available for government and education. Also, it is confusing to non-Americans.

I'll have to get back to you on the rest of your list, maybe next weekend:-)

I'll also try to add-in Tuttle's suggestions into all of this.

(edit, also after a quick scan through your list I see that you include some native OSX applications, perhaps we should avoid this type of thing, as we aren't trying to write an OSX guide)

I must confess I was actually trying to focus on current software capable of running under Panther, for use by the owner of an OSX only PB (or other Mac).

Ah, sorry for the confusion Rod, I was just referring to Text Edit. For me it is a little too basic to be considered a Word processor. I think some buy the Powerbook thinking it comes with Appleworks, as is the case for the iBook, and are a little disappointed. Trying to make them use Text edit on a large document might make them burst into tears of frustration.

Once you introduce older OS9 capable machines into the mix it becomes more complex, because you have to pay much greater attention to things like the size of the software's RAM and HD footprint, features that might be available when used under one OS and not another etc etc.

I think for this we should assume that the User has a brand new Powerbook G4, it'll keep it nice and simple. Though an OS9 compatible list as a separate Tip would be a good idea in my view.

I've also been compiling a listing of the software mentioned in the thread that started all this - with a view to creating a "people's choice" listing.

That's fine by me, though maybe we should put each title as a new topic in the 12" Powerbook so the folks can vote on it:-), assuming that the votes return to us.

Anyway, probably on Saturday morning I'll make some input into your draft and re-post it on the Tip thread, if you want to make the running on this now that is fine by me. I'll try to keep up with you;-)

Yes, it isn't too bad, especially when compared to the MS XP version of it (i forget its name now 😉. I think if you had just got a brand new Powerbook and had no internet access, and no alternatives it could bail you out (e.g. on a long flight for example). Now Rod, there is an alternative though when using OSX. Mail has most of the features of Text Edit, and will allow you to save a draft. Anyway, got a meeting coming up today Rod, I'll get back to you on the Tip with some input on Saturday.

Must-have Powerbook Software

1. Word processors and Office Suites

Working with words
Having just bought your brand new Powerbook you are bound to need some method of writing text. Fortunately, along with OSX is included the Text Edit application, a very underrated “basic form” of the word processor. It allows you to apply basic formatting, and can even save in rtf or MS Word format so that you can share your work with others. If you haven't already done so, take a look at it. For some people it may be all that you ever need (and can be found a in your Applications folder). It is also of note that the MS Office 30-day Test Drive Demo comes pre-installed on your Powerbook, giving you a taste of one of the World’s most widely used Office suites. However, there are many Mac Word Processors and Office Suite applications available, and these are dealt with below.

1. Appleworks
http://www.apple.com/appleworks/

Appleworks is an extremely capable program that integrates word processing, spreadsheet, database, drawing, painting and presentation capabilities. At around half the price of the academic version of Microsoft Office (and less than a quarter the price of the "Standard" version) it is well worth considering. It doesn't have all of the bells and whistles of Word or Excel in the WP and spreadsheet departments, but it will do everything that most users will ever require. In other areas (drawing, painting, database etc.) it provides facilities that MS Office can't match. It is also very efficient. It takes up less than one tenth of the hard disk space consumed by Office. The current version is getting old and needs a proper "makeover" to improve performance under OSX, but for home and SOHO users it is still very hard to beat. It could certainly find a place in many small businesses too.

2. MS Word / MS Office
http://www.microsoft.com/mac/

The "Industry Standard", when it comes to word processing, is Microsoft Word, usually bought as part of the MS Office 2004 Suite (a 30 day free "trial" version can be downloaded from Microsoft). The Office suite for the Mac comes in various configurations, but all include a copy of Word, together with "Excel" spreadsheet software, "PowerPoint" presentation software and "Entourage" email and contact management software (the Mac equivalent of "Outlook" for the PC). Unlike the PC version, Office for the Mac does not include the "MS Access" database program however. The "professional" versions also include a copy of Virtual PC.

MS Office for the Mac is a very good suite: powerful, well integrated, and with excellent cross platform compatibility. If you regularly exchange documents with PC users in a commercial or a large educational environment, then you will probably want to get hold of a copy of MS Office. If money isn't an issue then MS Office is an obvious choice. It’s not cheap unless you qualify for an educational discount though, and other alternatives exist which will do the same job just as effectively, and more cheaply, for many users.

3. NisusWriter
http://www.nisus.com/Express/

NisusWriter has been a favorite word-processor for a dedicated group of Mac Users for two decades. Many people refused to update to OSX based Macs simply because they were worried about losing the use of this program. Many linguists, and others whose work required effective multilingual and multi alphabet compatibility, regarded it as the only program worth considering. The latest edition NisusWriter Express2.1 brings the features that they loved into the OSX world. NisusWriter is an excellent word-processor for everyday use too, and great value - costs even less than Appleworks (though it lacks Appleworks spreadsheet and drawing features). You can download a free demo.

Another word-processor targeted at users with multilingual requirements is Mellel
- see http://www.redlers.com/mellel.html

4. Mariner Write
http://www.marinersoftware.com/sitepage.php?page=12

A word-processor getting some good reviews that again will do the job for most people. Some people have suggested that problems can occur when importing MS Word documents with paragraph styles or MS Word documents with in line graphics. Efficient RAM use and a small HD footprint are features of this one.

5. Final Draft
http://www.finaldraft.com/products/fd-features.php4

For the aspiring writer in you. As well a being an all round Word Processor Final Draft caters for specialist script writing: movie scripts, television episodes, stage plays… etc. It combines powerful word processing with professional script formatting in one self-contained, easy-to-use package. This versatile application is quite affordable too, allows imports from MS Word, and has a multitude of templates and features (e.g. SmartType and Collabowriter) that takes the chore out of script writing and editing.

6. OpenOffice
http://www.openoffice.org/

You can't beat the price of the open source software OpenOffice - It's free! The Mac port has been available for some time now, and does a pretty good job. Installation can be fiddly, though and involves things like conversion of all your Mac fonts to True type and the use of Apple's X11 software. You can also run into problems moving material from application to another, because of differences in the way clipboards are treated under X11. Some people love it, though. A related, Java based, project called NeoOffice/J may also be worth a look - see http://www.neooffice.org/