Application "Switch" Matrix
Contents
Overview
I switched to from DebianLinux to AppleOsx on my workstation in 2003 because I was tired of all my software "mostly working" and "kinda integrating". I also had an unfortunate habit of messing with things too much which eventually resulted in breaking something important and having to spend a good chunk of a day fixing my computer.
In the end OSX seemed like a good compromise. Unix underneath, polished applications on top and a solid framework in the middle to provide essentials like wifi, suspend/resume and the amazing integration which the Mac is known for. Overall I've been pretty happy, though I've been disappointed with the stability and amount of things that they broke in Tiger (OSX 10.4).
As silly as it sounds killer applications for me have been:
- Addressbook - Nothing else comes close to providing the level of integration it has with other Mac applications.
iPhoto - Despite failures in previous versions, version 5 provides everything I need and more. My one major complaint is that it doesn't support IPTC or XMP at all (Caption Buddy is so bad to be not worth mentioning), why doesn't iPhoto treat my MetaData with the same respect that iTunes does?
- iCal - Simple DAV capable calendaring. Beautiful.
See also: AppleSoftware, WindowsSoftware, LinuxSoftware, CrossPlatformSoftware
Switching
Despite my contentment with OSX and the available applications, I've recently been considering switching back as UbuntuLinux seems to becoming increasingly interesting. The recent blog posts from MarkPilgrim about his reasons for switching to Linux have dredged up a lot of my own suppressed uneasiness about OSX.
In then end it comes down choosing the option which "sucks the least". Right now I think the best answer for me is still OSX, but I'll be watching (and hopefully helping) pretty closely and hope to switch back sometime soon.
Preferred Applications for Each Operating System
This is obviously hugely subjective so let me be clear about my biases. I prefer ...
- Simple clean tools that do one thing well
- Tools available under an Open Source license
- The Gnome Desktop under Linux
|
Linux |
Apple |
Windows |
Core Tools |
|||
Addressbook |
?? |
Addressbook |
?? |
Calendaring |
Mono Calendar |
iCal |
Mono Calendar |
Thunderbird |
Thunderbird |
||
Office Suite |
OpenOffice |
iWork 1 |
OpenOffice |
Desktop Publishing |
Scribus |
Scribus / Swift Publisher |
Scribus |
Document Processor |
Lyx |
Lyx |
Lyx |
Notes |
Tomboy |
Stickies |
Stickies for Windows |
Web Browser |
Firefox |
Safari |
Firefox |
|
|||
Communication Tools |
|||
Blog Client |
?? |
ecto |
?? |
Instant Messaging 2 |
Gaim (gaim-vv) |
AdiumX (iChat) |
Gaim (Trillian Pro) |
IRC Client |
Konversation |
Colloquy |
?? |
News Reader |
Thunderbird |
Unison |
Thunderbird |
RSS Reader 3 |
Liferea |
Shrook |
Sage (Firefox extension) |
Video Conferencing |
Ekiga |
?? |
?? |
|
|||
Media Tools |
|||
DVD Creation |
KMediaFactory? k3b? |
iDVD |
Imgburn |
Image Manipulation |
The Gimp or Krita |
Seashore |
The Gimp |
PDF Viewer |
Evince |
Preview |
Foxit Reader |
Photo Management |
F-Spot?, digiKam? |
iPhoto |
Picasa |
Photo Printing |
?? |
iPhoto |
?? |
Media Player |
VLC or MPlayer |
VLC |
Real Media Classic or GOMplayer |
Music (Rip, Play, Burn) |
amaroK |
iTunes |
iTunes |
Vector Drawing |
Inkscape, xara |
Inkscape |
Inkscape or Xara (not free) |
Video Editing |
Kino? PiTiVi?, Diva? MainActor? |
iMovie |
Microsoft MovieMaker? |
Video Transcoding |
FFmpeg |
VisualHub |
?? |
|
|||
|
Linux |
Apple |
Windows |
Utilities |
|||
Anti-Virus |
ClamAV |
ClamXav |
avast!4 Home or AVG AntiVirus |
Bittorrent |
KTorrent |
Transmission |
uTorrent or ABC |
File Transfer |
?? |
Cyberduck |
Filezilla |
Firewall |
?? |
Native support |
Comodo or Netveda |
GTD |
?? |
kGTD?, EasyTask Manager? |
Time&Chaos (not free) |
Spam Filter |
?? |
?? |
K9 |
Malware |
Not needed |
Not needed |
AdAware and/or SpywareS&D and/or Windows Defender and Spyware Blaster |
Micropause |
Workrave |
AntiRSI |
Workrave |
Financial Management |
KMyMoney |
iBank |
|
P2P File Sharing |
Gnucleus |
mlMac |
?? |
Tabbed Terminal |
Gnome Terminal |
iTerm |
SecureCRT |
Unix Commandline |
Native support |
Native support |
|
Virtual Desktops |
Native support |
Desktop Manager |
VirtualWin |
|
|||
Developer Tools |
|||
Project Management |
Gantt Project |
Gantt Project |
Gant Project |
HTML Editor |
Amaya or Quanta Plus? |
Amaya |
Amaya |
Perl |
Native support |
Native support |
ActivePerl |
Python |
Native support |
Native support |
ActivePython |
Text Editor |
Gobby? Bluefish? |
SubEthaEdit |
EditPad Lite |
|
Linux |
Apple |
Windows |
If you have any better suggestions on applications or important categories, please let me know!
Thanks
BrettShand for lots of WindowsSoftware suggestions.
MarkPilgrim for lots of LinuxSoftware suggestions and pointing me at Seashore on the Mac.
-- AdamShand
1 Unfortunately iWork doesn't yet contain a spreadsheet program, if that's important then you want Microsoft Office, or NeoOffice.
2 If you care about the A/V capabilities of iChat A/V then the client in parenthesis is the one for you.
3 Personally I use Bloglines for everything, but there are advantages of client side readers.