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Software for Switchers: In Windows I used…

October 17, 2008 by Ross McKillop 

The intent of this guide/list is to help folks who have recently switched from Windows to OS X and are looking for “replacement” applications comparable to what they used on Windows. So here goes..

Please feel free - encouraged even - to leave a comment if you’ve found a great piece of OS X software that replaced something you used in Windows. I’m trying to avoid posting cross-platform stuff - for example, I’m not adding things like “Firefox” to this list, because Firefox is available for both Windows and OS X. This list will be constantly updated as new software comes out and comments are added.

In Windows I used… In OS X you can use…
   
Internet Software  
Miranda IM, Digsby, Pidgin, Trillian Messenger Adium
Agent (newsreader) Unison
FeedDemon Vienna
SmartFTP, CuteFTP, WS-FTP CyberDuck
Internet Explorer Safari
Outlook Express Mail
uTorrent, BitTornado Transmission
mIRC Colloquy
WAMP MAMP
CD/DVD Burning Software  
CDBurnerXP, ImgBurn, InfraRecorder,
DeepBurner, JetBee		 Burn
Audio/Video Software  
Windows Media Player Classic VLC* also available for Win
MediaCoder ffmpegX
K-Lite Codec Pack Perian
MP3 to iPod Audio Book Converter AudioBook Maker
Graphics Software  
SnagIt InstantShot!
BIMP, Advanced Batch Converter,
FastStone Photo Resizer		 ThumbsUp
Compression Software  
WinZIP, 7-Zip Stuffit
WinRAR RAR Expander
Games  
MAME MAME OS X
Solitare Solitare XL
Minesweeper BombSquad
Pinball MacPinball (shareware)
General Utilities  
Notepad TextEdit
Launchy, Dash Command, SlickRun Quicksilver
Web Design and Development  
FrontPage Kompozer

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Filed Under: Making The Switch

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Comments

8 Responses to “Software for Switchers: In Windows I used…”

  1. Andrew on October 19th, 2008 5:59 pm

    I am just about to finally make the switch - this is a good guide. I am a bit of a Usenet junkie, do you know the best newsreader software for the Mac?

  2. applelog on October 19th, 2008 6:26 pm

    Great start! I was looking for K-Lite Codec Pack Mac alternative for a while.

  3. Ross McKillop on October 19th, 2008 7:14 pm

    @Andrew -

    Which newsreader do you use for Windows? Unison is a pretty full featured newsreader for OS X, tho it’s not free (there is a fully functional 15 day demo).

  4. Bruce on October 19th, 2008 9:48 pm

    In windows I used MP3 to iPod Audio Book Converter.
    In OS X I use Audiobook Builder.

    Thanks for the list.
    Bruce

  5. Andrew on October 20th, 2008 7:38 am

    @Ross - Agent, I didn’t know Panic made a newsreader :) awesome, those guys rock.

  6. Gary on October 23rd, 2008 10:13 pm

    Thanks for the cool list!

  7. Glenn on November 16th, 2008 8:00 am

    Great list…here are few additions:

    In Windows, I used MS Office…in Mac I use NeoOffice(Free)
    In Windows, I used MasterCook….in Mac, I use MacGourmet(cost)
    In Windows, I had to manually backup, in Mac I use iBackup (Free)
    In Windows, I used CakeWalk, in Mac, I use GarageBand(Free)

  8. adam on May 5th, 2009 11:03 am

    Instead of Kompozer, my suggestion would either be coda ($99) or aptana (free). Aptana certainly holds it’s own with coda, and for some users like js coders it might be superior. the only downside is that you’ll have to use a seperate ftp where coda has it built in…
    http://www.aptana.com/
    http://www.panic.com/coda/

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