Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Second Edition

Chapter 9. The Free Programs

If you write it, they will come. That’s the theory, anyway—that the success of the Mac (or any computer, really) depends on the quality and quantity of the applications available for it. Where there’s a broad software selection, there’s an audience. That, no doubt, is why Apple has been busily writing its own cool new programs (iTunes, iPhoto, and so on).

Right out of the box, Mac OS X comes with a healthy assortment of over 30 freebies: programs for sending email, writing documents, doing math, even playing games. Some are dressed-up versions of Mac programs that have been around for years. Others, though, are new programs that not only show off some of Mac OS X’s most dramatic new technologies, but let you get real work done without having to invest in additional software.

Your Free Mac OS X Programs

You’ve got a broad assortment of programs in the Applications folder in the main hard drive window. The Applications→Utilities folder holds another couple dozen mini-programs that handle such workaday jobs as setting up printers and network connections, fixing problems on your hard disk, and monitoring the behind-the-scenes processing performed by your Mac whenever you launch and run programs.

All of these programs have been either written expressly for Mac OS X (Cocoa applications) or adapted for it (“Carbonized”—see Section 4.6). This chapter guides you through every item in your new software library, one program at a time. (Depending on your Mac model, ...