What happened to all the good software?
in [Mac Applications]
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From: Al on 10 Feb 2006 09:30 I recently got my McMall catalog. Seems like all they sell is hardware nowadays. Many moons ago, the catlogs were full of software for the Mac. There was so much software it could only be listed in columns. I wish I had a catalog from the early 90's just to look at what was available. What happened to all the good, cheap or free software like, MacDraw, MacPaint, SuperPaint, Publish it Easy, MacCAD and the like? It seems like everything now costs hundreds if not thousands of dollars. That's one of the reasons I still use OS 9.X, most of the old software works and does what I need. As I result, I haven't looked that extensively; maybe it's out there somewhere. Any ideas as to a followup for say, MacDraw II? Al
From: Chris McDonald on 10 Feb 2006 09:44 Al <no.spam(a)wanted.com> writes: >That's one of the reasons I still use OS 9.X, most of the old software >works and does what I need. As I result, I haven't looked that >extensively; maybe it's out there somewhere. Any ideas as to a followup >for say, MacDraw II? Since OSX became/adopted Unix-derived, writing Mac software became so much easier, and much *more* software became available because it has been ported from Unix and Linux sources. Moreover, tools such as XCode make mac coding so much easier than was OS9 programming with CodeWarrior, etc. I think your "problems" stem from: - still using OS9, - not seeking free software. Search through VersionTracker, Fink, and http://osx.hyperjeff.net/Apps/ for examples. -- Chris.
From: Geoffrey F. Green on 10 Feb 2006 09:50 In article <no.spam-5818C6.09300710022006(a)news.verizon.net>, Al <no.spam(a)wanted.com> wrote: > I recently got my McMall catalog. Seems like all they sell is hardware > nowadays. Many moons ago, the catlogs were full of software for the Mac. > There was so much software it could only be listed in columns. I wish I > had a catalog from the early 90's just to look at what was available. > > What happened to all the good, cheap or free software like, MacDraw, > MacPaint, SuperPaint, Publish it Easy, MacCAD and the like? It seems > like everything now costs hundreds if not thousands of dollars. It would be nice if there were good cheap or free software now. I really wish someone would come up with cheap or free programs like GraphicConverter, OmniOutliner, NetNewsWire, Firefox, Transmit, Unison, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb, PCCalc, DragThing, LaunchBar, Textmate, Delicious Library, Comic Life, Photoshop Elements, Nisus Witer Express, Quicken, and Turbotax. Maybe someday... The point being, of course, that you need to look beyond what's in the catalogs, because that's all advertising and a lot of the companies selling inexpensive software don't want to shell out for that. A lot of software is produced by smaller companies whose presence is almost entirely internet-based, such as Panic <http://panic.com> or Rogue Amoeba <http://www.rogueamoeba.com/>. Where to find this software? Browse around macupdate.com or versiontracker.com to start. Ask questions here. Google. Lots of ways. > That's one of the reasons I still use OS 9.X, most of the old software > works and does what I need. As I result, I haven't looked that > extensively; maybe it's out there somewhere. Any ideas as to a followup > for say, MacDraw II? I searched for "Macdraw replacement" on Google, and this came up on the first page of hits: <http://www.purgatorydesign.com/Intaglio/index.html#Description>. I can't vouch for it though. - geoff
From: Garner Miller on 10 Feb 2006 10:00 In article <no.spam-5818C6.09300710022006(a)news.verizon.net>, Al <no.spam(a)wanted.com> wrote: > I recently got my McMall catalog. Seems like all they sell is hardware > nowadays. MacMall is an awful vendor, so I wouldn't use their catalog as a real benchmark of the Mac world. > What happened to all the good, cheap or free software like, MacDraw, > MacPaint, SuperPaint, Publish it Easy, MacCAD and the like? It seems > like everything now costs hundreds if not thousands of dollars. A lot of it has gone to the shareware or free world. For example, GraphicConverter is an *amazing* graphics program, and it's only $30 shareware. It does much more than MacPaint ever did. I never used Publish It Easy, so I have no idea what would directly compare to it. InDesign is very powerful, but also very expensive. For things like newsletters and such, Apple's own Pages will probably do what you would need, and it's reasonably priced at $79, as part of the iWork package (which includes a presentation program, too). Take a look: http://www.apple.com/iwork/pages/ Apple is also bundling very powerful software with the new Macs, such as iPhoto, iDVD, and so forth. Many of the things people are using computers for are included with the Macs. (And that stuff is sold/upgraded separately as their iLife package, too.) You also have the Open Source software, some of it *very* powerful stuff. The Mac OS's change to a unix-based system has opened the doors to a ton of new software for us. For example, the most widely-used web server in world, Apache, comes standard with the system. I'm learning the MySQL database language right now; it was a simple (free) download. I'm reprocessing video files with a package called ffmpeg. There's even a free competitor to Microsoft Office, called the OpenOffice.org project. (And there's a Mac-tweaked version at http://neooffice.org/ too.) So I think the short answer to your question is this: a lot of the really good software isn't in the stores and in the catalogs anymore. The internet has played a large part in that, because fast internet connections have made distribution on CD unnecessary for a lot of these great programs. Can't help with a MacDraw replacement, as I never used it. I'll leave that one to someone else. -- Garner R. Miller Clifton Park, NY =USA= http://www.garnermiller.com/
From: Davoud on 10 Feb 2006 11:05
Al wrote: > I recently got my McMall catalog. Seems like all they sell is hardware > nowadays. Many moons ago, the catlogs were full of software for the Mac. > There was so much software it could only be listed in columns. I wish I > had a catalog from the early 90's just to look at what was available. > > What happened to all the good, cheap or free software like, MacDraw, > MacPaint, SuperPaint, Publish it Easy, MacCAD and the like? It seems > like everything now costs hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Pages, part of the very inexpensive iWork suite, is far better than Publish it Easy. VersionTracker.com might show you some replacements for the others. Still, time marches on. Contrary to popular belief, the laws of physics do permit one to enjoy a free lunch -- but only for a short period, and then at some point it has to be paid back. > That's one of the reasons I still use OS 9.X, most of the old software > works and does what I need. Then why do you ask? > As I result, I haven't looked that extensively; maybe it's out there somewhere. Ah. You asked because you would /like/ to move on to OS X, but you don't want to take the time to research this for yourself. > Any ideas as to a followup for say, MacDraw II? In OS 9? Forget it. In OS X? Deneba Canvas and Adobe Illustrator are both worthy vector drawing programs. Davoud -- usenet *at* davidillig dawt com |