Petr Šourek In the second part of our series, we will focus on the Internet. Here, too, you can easily find an adequate Mac alternative to Windows programs.
Today and every day we encounter the Internet both in our work and in our private lives. We use it at work - to communicate with colleagues, friends or even for fun - watching news, news, videos or playing games. Indeed, OS X offers a wide range of applications in this area that we can use to surf the waves of this great sea. I think it will be best to start by replacing the program that conveys this content to us, which is the web browser.
WWW browsers
The only application you won't find for Mac OS is Internet Explorer, and therefore no browser that uses its rendering engine. For example, MyIE (Maxthon), Avant Browser, etc. Other browsers also have their MacOS version. If I ignore the basic Safari browser, it has its own version as well Mozilla Firefox, so most solutions from Mozilla has its MacOS port (SeaMonkey, Thunderbird, Sunbird), even Opera is available under Mac OS X.
Postal clients
In the last part, we dealt with communication with MS Exchange and company infrastructure. Today we will discuss the classic mail and the integration used by the common user. There are two options for how the user can access his mailbox, which he has on the website. Either directly through the browser and can use the application in the previous paragraph, or through applications such as Outlook Express, Thunderbird, The Bat and others.
- Email – an application from Apple, is supplied on the system DVD. Designed for mail management. It supports MS Exchange 2007 and higher, it also handles other protocols used by e-mail services on the Internet (POP3, IMAP, SMTP).
- Claws Mail – a cross-platform mail client supporting standards. He has a lot functionality, but probably the most interesting is the support for plug-ins. Thanks to this, its possibilities can be expanded even more significantly.
- eudora – this client is available for both Windows and Mac OS. Its history dates back to 1988. In 1991, this project was bought by Qualcomm. In 2006, it ended the development of the commercial version and financially supported the development of an open source version based on the Mozilla Thunderbird client.
- Scribe – shareware client, only 1 account and a maximum of 5 user-defined filters are allowed for free. For $20 you get unlimited functionality. Common standards and plug-ins are supported.
- Mozilla Thunderbird – a very popular mail client for Windows also has a version for Mac OS. As is good practice, it supports all postal communication standards and can be extended with a wide range of plug-ins. For example, it is possible to install the Lightning extension to support the calendar.
- Opera Mail – is part of the popular package and a bonus for users of the Opera browser. It includes support for standard protocols and, in addition, an IRC client or a directory for maintaining contacts.
- SeaMonkey – this is not a thoroughbred mail client. As in the case of Opera, it combines several applications for working with the Internet and, among others, a mail client. It is a successor to the Mozilla Application Suite project.
FTP Clients
Today, data transfer over the Internet consists of a relatively large number of protocols, but FTP (File Transfer Protocol) was one of the first to be used, which over time also received SSL security. Other protocols are, for example, transfers via SSH (SCP/SFTP) etc. There are many programs on Mac OS that are able to implement these standards and here we list some of them.
- Finder – this file manager also includes the possibility of working with an FTP connection, but very limited. I don't know if it is able to use SSL, passive connection, etc., because it doesn't have these options anywhere, in any case it is enough for classic use.
- Cyberduck – a client that is one of the few free and is able to connect to FTP, SFTP, etc. It supports both SSL and certificates for SFTP connections.
- Filezilla – another relatively well-known FTP client with both SSL and SFTP support. It doesn't have a classic Mac OS environment like CyberDuck, but it does support a download queue. Unfortunately, it does not support FXP.
- Transmit – paid FTP client with FXP support and control via AppleScript.
- Fetch – a paid FTP client with support for AppleScript and all standards.
RSS readers
If you follow various websites via RSS readers, you will not be deprived of this option even on Mac OS. Most mail clients and browsers have this option and have it built-in. Optionally, it can be installed via extension modules.
- Mail, Mozilla Thunderbird, SeaMonkey – these clients have support for RSS feeds.
- Safari, Firefox, Opera – these browsers can also process RSS feeds.
- NewsLife – a commercial application focused only on downloading and monitoring RSS feeds and their clear display.
- NetNewsWire – an RSS reader that supports synchronization with Google Reader, but can also run as a standalone program. It is free but contains ads. These can be removed by paying a small fee ($14,95). It supports bookmarks and can be "controlled" with AppleScript. It is also available in a version for iPhone and iPad.
- Shrook – plus it supports Twitter integration and is free. Loaded messages can be searched through the system Spotlight.
Podcast readers and creators
A podcast is essentially RSS, but it can contain images, video and or audio. Recently, this technology has become very popular, some radio stations in the Czech Republic use it to record their programs so that listeners can download them and listen to them at another time.
- iTunes – the basic player in Mac OS that takes care of most of the multimedia content on Mac OS and the synchronization of iOS devices with the computer. Among other things, it also includes a podcast reader, and through it you can also subscribe to a lot of podcasts in the iTunes Store (and not only there). Unfortunately, I found almost no Czech ones in iTunes.
- cyndicate – in addition to being an RSS reader, this program is also able to watch and download podcasts. This is a commercial program.
- feeder – it is not directly an RSS/podcast reader, but a program that helps to create and easily publish them.
- Juice – the free app is primarily focused on podcasts. It even has its own directory of podcasts that you can start downloading and listening to right away.
- Podcasters – again, this is not a reader, but an application that allows you to publish your own podcasts.
- RSSOwl – An RSS and podcast reader capable of downloading new episodes of your favorite podcasts.
Instant messenger or chatterbox
A group of programs that take care of communication between us and colleagues or friends. There are many protocols, from ICQ to IRC to XMPP and many more.
- iChat – let's start again with the program contained directly in the system. This program has support for several well-known protocols such as ICQ, MobileMe, MSN, Jabber, GTalk, etc. It is also possible to install unofficial extensions Chax, which is capable of modifying the behavior of this bug, such as merging contacts from all accounts into one contact list. You can only send text messages on ICQ (basically iChat sends html format and unfortunately some Windows applications are not able to deal with this fact).
- Adium – this joke is the most widespread among applists and could probably be compared to Miranda. It supports a large number of protocols and, most importantly, has a wide range of setting options - not just appearance. The official site offers a lot of different types of emoticons, icons, sounds, scripts, etc.
- Skype or Whatsapp – this program also has its version for Mac OS, its fans will not be deprived of anything. It offers the option of chatting as well as VOIP and video telephony.
Remote surface
Remote desktop is suitable for all administrators, but also for people who want to help their friends with a problem: whether on Mac OS or other operating systems. Several protocols are used for this purpose. Machines that use MS Windows use the RDP protocol implementation, Linux machines, including OS X, use the VNC implementation.
- Remote desktop connection – a direct implementation of RDP from Microsoft. It supports saving shortcuts for individual servers, including setting their login, display, etc.
- Chicken of the VNC – a program for connecting to a VNC server. Like the RDP client above, it is able to save basic settings for connecting to selected VNC servers.
- Blame VNC – VNC client for remote desktop control. It supports secure connections and basic options for connecting to VNC desktops,
- JollysFastVNC – commercial client for remote desktop connection, supports a lot of options, including secure connection, connection compression, etc.
- iChat – it is not only a communication tool, it is able to connect to the remote desktop if the other party is using iChat again. That is, if your friend needs help and you communicate via Jabber, for example, there is no problem connecting to him (he must agree to take over the screen) and help him set up his OS X environment.
- TeamViewer – a cross-platform remote desktop management client. It is free for non-commercial use. It is a client and server in one. It is sufficient for both parties to have the program installed and to give the generated user number and password to the other party.
SSH, telnet
Some of us use command line options to connect to a remote computer. There are lots of tools to do this on Windows, but the best known is Putty Telnet.
- SSH, Telnet – Mac OS has command line support programs installed by default. After starting terminal.app, you are able to write SSH with parameters or telnet with parameters and connect to wherever you want. However, I recognize that this option may not suit everyone.
- Putty telnet – putty telnet is also available for Mac OS, but not as a binary package. For non-Windows systems, it is available via source code. It is integrated in Macports, to install it just type: sudo port install putty and MacPorts will do all the slave work for you.
- MacWise – from commercial terminals here we have MacWise available, which is a decent replacement for Putty, unfortunately it is paid.
P2P programs
Although sharing is illegal, it forgets one thing. P2P programs, such as torrents, were created for a completely different purpose. With their help, server congestion was to be removed if someone was interested in, for example, an image of a Linux distribution. The fact that it turned into something illegal is not the fault of the creator, but the people who abuse the idea. Let us recall, for example, Oppenheimer. He also wanted his invention to be used only for the good of humanity, but what was it used for after all? You yourself know.
- Acquisition – a client that supports both the Gnutella network and is also able to use classic torrents. It is based on the LimeWire project and is paid. Its main advantage is full integration into the Mac OS environment, including iTunes.
- aMule – freely distributable client with support for kad and edonkey networks.
- BitTornado – a freely distributable client for sharing files on the intranet and the Internet. It's based on the official torrent client, but has a few extra things like UPNP, limiting download and upload speeds, etc.
- LimeWire – the very popular file sharing program has both a Windows and a Mac OS version. It operates on the Gnutella network, but torrents are not far from it either. In October of this year, a US court ordered the addition of code to the program that should prevent the search, sharing and downloading of files. Version 5.5.11 complies with this decision.
- ML Donkey – an opensource project that deals with the implementation of several protocols for P2P sharing. It is able to deal with torrents, eDonkey, overnet, cad...
- Opera – although it is a web browser with an integrated email client, it also supports torrent downloads.
- Transmission – a vital necessity on every Mac computer. A simple (and free) easy-to-use torrent downloader. It does not load the system like other P2P clients. It is the responsibility of the creators of Handbrake – a popular video conversion program.
- μTorrent – this client is also very popular under Windows and has its Mac OS port as well. Simple and reliable, free to download.
Download accelerators
Programs that help you download files from the Internet. I don't know why they are called accelerators, because they are not able to download more than the bandwidth of your line. Their main advantage is that they are able to establish a broken connection, so if your Internet connection drops, these programs will save you a lot of "hot" moments.
- iGetter – the paid downloader has a lot of other small but useful features. It can resume interrupted downloads, download all files on a page…
- folx – downloader available in two versions – free and paid, anyway for many users the free version will be enough. It supports resuming interrupted downloads, scheduling downloads for certain hours, and more.
- jDownloader – This free program is not exactly an accelerator as such, but it has a lot of useful features. It is able to download videos from YouTube (you enter a link and it lets you choose if you want a normal video or in HD quality if available, etc.). It also supports downloading from most repositories available today, such as save it, rapidshare, etc. It is cross-platform, thanks to the fact that it is written in Java.
That's all for today. In the next part of the series, we will look at development tools and environments.
"Mozilla Thunderbird - a very popular e-mail client for Windows also has a version for Mac OS. As is good practice, it defies all postal communication standards and can be extended with a wide range of plug-ins. For example, it is possible to install the Lightning extension to support the calendar."
DOES IT DEFY ALL STANDARDS? It will probably be a typo in such a long article.
I'm sorry, but such a long article is insensitive, shouldn't it be divided into individual parts (browser, email, ftp, ... clients)?
The dropped "p" also amused me :-))
Otherwise, I agree, it could easily be divided into several parts... I just "scrolled" like this, looked at the headings and thought to myself "I have / know / don't know"... :-(
I thought for a long time whether to cut it or not, in any case, the article was conceived as an overview of replacements, even if I don't know if it was selected correctly. The goal is not to say this does this and that, but you avoid this because it can't do it, because there are too many applications in it, I'm not able to try them all. If I were to write about only a few selected ones, there would certainly be a discussion on the topic: "Program xy is indeed good, but it is completely useless to me, because it can't do this and that, do you know if there aren't some others?". This is how I gave an overview of the application, where everyone can choose what interests them.
A distinction should probably be made between real OS X programs that respect GUI rules in addition to functionality, and various paybacks: Scribe is an example of all - maybe a client full of features, but under OS X it looks terrible, probably as if it fell out of Windows 3.0, not to mention because half of the change is illegible, one sees a piece of a word and three dots. If you want to lure Win users with this, you're just advertising Microsoft - it's a hundred times better Outlook than this.
I think that one of the advantages of OS X is the streamlined and unified GUI. You should give your readers a clue as to which of your long list are genuine OS X programs and which are parodies (looking-wise).
Thank you for your opinion, I will edit the article with OSX native "stickers".
Anyway, I'm afraid of one thing. Many people after the transition are looking for something to replace what they are used to. When Windows comes to OSX, he is "horrified" and I know a lot of people who don't like OSX, because everything is done "differently" in its gui. They are trying to bend OSX to look and behave like Windows. I personally see it as a road to hell and I recommend everyone to do what I did. I forgot how to work with Windows and started from scratch, and lo and behold, today I wouldn't want anything that doesn't have an OSX look, that is, with a few necessary exceptions.
A lot of people told me that they don't switch to OSX for one simple reason, they don't like that the system "thinks" for them, or that what they're used to doesn't work there. I know I can't generalize for everyone, but that's how it is. The world is "fed up" with MS Windows products, not that it bothers me, but I think that for x% of them, and there are not a few of them, it will be better if they touch everything, or use what they were used to and as soon as they gradually they will familiarize themselves with Irbis or Lion, so they will also change their habits and the programs they use.
For example, I could not imagine anything other than MS Office in a corporate environment. Then I went over and looked. For what I need, mail and ical (posta+calendar) are enough, if you write a reference or any document in which no one else will interfere, write it in iWork and export it in PDF for ease of use. The only problem is in collaboration with others, which then I have to do via Word in Windows, which I still only use because of its usefulness (unfortunately, SAP can't do anything else. Exports are fine, mostly csv separated by a separator, but when I use Excel inplace, or OLE for the creation of user reports from the SAP environment, I can't do without Office ... for desktops, if I exclude ALV, or good old text output).
...it's free, but it's here - Outlook from Office 2011 is finally an office version for people switching from Windows to Mac that can not only read Windows Office formats correctly, but most importantly also saves them correctly - so there's no need to worry about giving winblows to your colleagues work.
I think Outlook can only work with MS Exchange 2007 and newer... Even fellow geeks praise it quite a bit - somehow it all has something in common. In addition, it also reads a pst file (import).
For me, this office brought an end to the need to run Paralles or Bootcamp...
I just hope that it won't be like Office 2008, when even after SP2, when things got better, the offices were incompatible with each other :/ Anyway, I'll try and see :)
As for exchange 2007, unfortunately there are still a lot of companies that have 2003 and there is no threat of an upgrade anytime soon :( some companies haven't even switched to office 2007 yet, or to something newer than IE6... :(
It is far from being able to save all win excel formats, which is quite disappointing for me. And in addition, since it is the US version, it has different separators than classic Excel. But maybe it's adjustable somewhere. Or I'm using too many functions..
And lots of other little things compared to Win Excel (for example, separation in formulas). Which I don't really understand why there are so many differences :-/ ... so parallels still wins, I have to use .. (I am one of those who are long-time WIN users and are only gaining trust in Apple :-D )
Outlook looks great, but I have exchange 2003 at work... and via IMAP it's quite impractical... so entourage won.
Separators to csv, at least under Windows, were according to "Regional settings" in the control panels, I don't know if it will also be on Mac OS, but I would say yes.
Hi, I'm just getting started with MAC, I have a couple of problems, and that's why I have to keep Win as the second system. Could someone please help with the following?
1. Synchronization of posts + calendars with the exchange server, the problem is that I have to use VPN to connect, but OWA is not running in the company and the server address is srvmx.domainname.local
2. Is it possible for MAC to use systems based on the Siebel platform? The browser would like to install some activex plugin and the path does not work
Thanks
Jacob
add 1) I don't see it under mac os, I don't have much experience with a native vpn client, because I didn't need it then. Most of the time (thanks to the nature of my work) I use the cisco vpn client in Windows, because unfortunately I need ActiveX elements for creating print forms, etc. in an unnamed system
add 2) I don't know unfortunately ;( I would try Wine or crossover if it doesn't work, otherwise I don't know