Applications for the Mac mini and Recommended Software


For more information on the topics in this section, see Chapter 9 and 10.

How much software do I need to buy?

Between the software that comes free with the Mac mini and a $99 .Mac membership, I am not certain you need to buy any additional software. What the .Mac membership gives you, besides an e-mail account that you may not need, is backup software and an online iDisk where you can stash some important files. You also get .Mac Sync, which can serve as a backup but is most useful for keeping data synchronized across several Macs.

How does Microsoft Office for Macintosh differ from the Windows version?

The great thing about Microsoft Office for Macintosh is its compatibility with the Windows version. I have never run into a serious compatibility issue.

The worst thing about Microsoft Office for Macintosh is that it offers a program called Entourage as a weak replacement for the Windows-only Outlook. Entourage is useful mostly if you need to connect to a Microsoft Exchange server at work. It's not at all a bad program and works great with other types of e-mail accounts.

Since I have AppleWorks, do I need Microsoft Office?

Certainly, you should try AppleWorks, the Microsoft Officelike set of programs that comes free with the Mac mini. It is not nearly as full featured as Office, but if it works for you, you've saved some money. If not, Microsoft Office is the way to go.

What software do you recommend for a home office?

I'd buy Microsoft Office, at the discounted student pricing if I qualified, for the word processing and spreadsheet applications. I'd use the free Mail, Address Book, and iCal applications that come with the Mac mini for those features.

For small business accounting, there's QuickBooks for Mac and a set of programs in the MYOB series.

See Chapters 9 and 10 for a feel for the applications that come preinstalled on your Mac mini and those available from other software publishers.

How do I keep my software current?

Keeping your software up-to-date, especially with security fixes, is very important. While Mac OS X isn't the hacker target Windows has become, it's still a good idea to make sure you have all the latest security updates installed on your machine. Fortunately, Apple makes this almost brainlessly simple to accomplish.

One of the things Apple does better than Microsoft is make updating your software easy. Despite continued requests from customers, Microsoft has been unable to create a single automatic download service for all its updates. Operating system and security fixes from Microsoft download automatically, while application updates have to be sought out and downloaded manually.

In the Macintosh world, all updates to Apple-branded software arrive automatically, so long as you have Software Update set to automatically check for new software. Mine is set to check daily, but you can also select weekly or monthly.

Of course, many Mac users are also running Microsoft Office, which is not upgraded through the Apple Software Update service. Instead, Microsoft has its own software that automatically checks for updates.

You might also be interested in a commercial service called Version Tracker that can watch over all the software on your Mac. VersionTracker tells you when updates are available and even helps you download and install them. For information and pricing, visit www.versiontracker.com. If you have .Mac, check whether VersionTracker is still being offered for free as a part of the membership.

Are Mac magazine software reviews useful?

The Mac magazines can all be criticized, at least occasionally, for taking their role as platform cheerleader a bit too far, occasionally giving products a higher rating than they deserve. This halo effect can be a bit troubling at times, but fortunately most Mac software is available on a "try before you buy" free download basis.

There is some very wonderful Mac software available, but not all programs are wonderful just because they run on a Mac. But magazines have pages to fill, so some products get boosted that probably shouldn't be.



The Mac mini Guidebook A practical, hands-on book for everyoneincluding Windows usersmoving to Apple's compact computer
The Mac mini Guidebook A practical, hands-on book for everyoneincluding Windows usersmoving to Apple's compact computer
ISBN: N/A
EAN: N/A
Year: 2004
Pages: 146

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