Worried that OS X will relegate your software to Classic mode? These five apps should ease your mind.
When Apple introduced OS X back in 2001, many Macsters feared their old software wouldn't run properly after the upgrade. And they were right. Plenty of software makers waited for version 10.1 (or longer) before bothering to write new, OS X-native programs.
Even then, some software didn't work well. AOL for OS X, for instance, works like a charm on OS X 10.1, but it didn't initially run under 10.2 (Jaguar). Indeed, very few OS X users will be able to avoid using the Classic environment for pre-OS X apps altogether. But if you're sold on OS X, you're not totally out in the cold; there are finally some excellent OS X-ready apps available beyond Apple's bundled choices. We've rounded up a few third-party standouts.
Adobe Photoshop 7.0
For a long while, OS X threatened to simply wither on the vine. Why? The new OS just didn't have a native version of the one app that most Mac professionals were waiting for: Photoshop. Adobe's image editor is the seminal Mac program--one of the first to catapult the Mac into a superior graphics platform. But Adobe didn't release an OS X- compatible version of Photoshop until April 2002, fully one year after OS X hit the shelves. Finally, Photoshop 7.0 fills the void; luckily, it looks good and runs well in Aqua.
Adobe InDesign 2.0
Before there was Photoshop for OS X, Adobe released InDesign, the company's high- end desktop-publishing app and would-be QuarkXPress killer. Since Quark has yet to release a native OS X version and Adobe's product has garnered many an accolade, we suspect InDesign could win this war. With Photoshop finally following suit, Adobe stays true to its Mac roots with a one-two graphics-and-publishing punch.
Roxio Toast with Jam
Unlike fellow software makers, Roxio wanted to release OS X-compatible apps right off the bat. But when the OS first appeared, it didn't support the FireWire burners that so many Toast users prefer. Now, however, OS X has caught up, and Roxio returned the favor. Roxio has beefed up its OS X-compatible Toast Titanium 5.0 by bundling audio- mastering and -editing software and renaming the whole package Toast with Jam. Plus, Toast with Jam now burns DVD and MP3 discs.
LimeWire 2.6
Macsters have largely missed out on the almost daily barrage of new Windows file- sharing apps, but LimeWire has quietly offered Mac versions from the get-go. And in September, LimeWire unveiled OS X-native versions of both its free and Pro versions, decked out in a slick, Aqua-style interface. That makes LimeWire more than just the rare Mac-compatible P2P app--it's the only OS X-compatible file-swapper that we know about. Now that's forward thinking.
Microsoft Office X for Mac
When Microsoft announced the OS X version of the venerable Office suite--just a few months after the OS hit the shelves in March 2001--many pundits declared that Apple's new OS was finally worth buying. Indeed, you can't get much more support for an OS than a brand-new version of the 800-pound gorilla of office suites. While some argue that Office 2001 for Mac was the better all-around suite, the custom-built OS X program does wonders for OS X stability.
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I think Limewire sucks.Being relatively naive about downloading music I had a friend install Limewire for me.Then I found out it was illegal to download for free.I can't get the da__ thing uninstalled when I use add/remove programs. I don't know what to do. Now I find out it has installed other stuff on my computer that I can't even see.