Mac Resources

I do most of my work on Macs because I like having a full Unix operating system, I like having well-integrated graphical tools, I like having hardware that's highly integrated with the software, and I like having other people worry about the system administration. The Mac is a great system, but I've also found that there are some programs that make it a lot easier to use:

• Notes on Setting up a Macintosh

Other Free Software

I find these these free software applications useful:

• MacPorts, for managing open source software.
• Adium, an instant messaging program.
• Skim-App, open source tool for reading and annotating PDF files.
• BibDesk, which many people use to maintain a BibTeX database.
• Sage, Open source Math Software. "Mission: Creating a viable free open source alternative to Magma, Maple, Mathematica and Matlab."

Commercial Software

These commercial applications should be installed:

• Microsoft Office 2008 (Institutional install)
• Apple iWork 09 (for Keynote)
• Apple iLife '09 (for iPhoto with face recognition)
• Cisco VPN Client

Other Installations

You may find these interesting

• EMACS on MacOS: Aquamacs Emacs 21 for MacOS Emacs.app
• iterm (better Terminal)
• TeXniscope
• Enhanced Carbon Emacs (ECE) plugin
• pdfsync
• SuperDuper!, an easy-to-use backup system for the Mac which makes bootable drives.
• Textmate - some people swear by it, I use EMACS.

See Also

Other places to look for cool Mac stuff:

• Hawk Wings' list of MacOS Plug-ins
• PHP5 for Mac