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I'm a right-click kind of guy. Imagine my astonishment when I realized that my beloved Logitech optical mouse turned itself into a two-button Mac OS X mouse as soon as I plugged it in.
  technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

10 essential programs for Mac OS X


March 31, 2002


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2002, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2002, The Post-Standard

   Apple's OS X ("Operating System 10") is a delight, especially for an old Windows guy like me. OS X is almost everything Windows should have been -- fast, intuitive, powerful and immune to all those pointless Windows lockups and crashes that can drive a Windows user crazy.
   But it's a tad shy in one department. Like your weird Uncle Benny, Apple's new operating system seems to have a screw loose. It has no menus at all for launching programs.
   Nada. Not a one. You have a gorgeous pop-out launch bar called the Dock, but you won't find Apple's equivalent of the Start Menu in Windows. Apple left out this kind of menu because it wants OS X users to stop using menus. (No, I'm not kidding.) It wants OS X users to get used to the Dock.
   That would be fine if all you had were 12 programs, but Mac users like to have fun just as much as Windows users do. Maybe even more so. And that means they probably have a lot of little programs they like to run -- a lot of games, a half-dozen music programs, a few instant messaging things, and so on. Where do you put their launch icons in OS X? All that stuff won't fit on the Dock, since it's already full of Apple's own programs and folders.
   The solution? FruitMenu. This $7 program puts a real launch menu right where it belongs, at the top left corner of the screen. You'll have no trouble adding to it and customizing it. I paid for it the first day I tried it. Go to www.unsanity.com to download it.
   Mac veterans who have never tried OS X might be shaking their heads in disbelief. After all, the older Mac operating system ("OS 9") has what Mac lovers happily refer to as the Apple Menu, right up at the top left of the screen. (It was there long before Microsoft designed the Windows Start Menu. Imitation is the best kind of flattery, right?)
   So does that mean Apple already had a great little launch menu on the Mac and then took it out when it created OS X? You got it, pal. Apple took out something else, too -- the nifty roll-up windows. Mac lovers have a neat little trick they can pull when they're running the old operating system whenever a window gets in the way. They can simply double click on the title bar. The window instantly rolls up into the title bar. Double click it again and it rolls down.
   So, while you're looking for FruitMenu, grab WindowShade X from the same Web site. It's also only $7. It gives your OS X functions the older Mac OS doesn't even have, such as double clicking on a title bar to minimize the window. You can set it up any way you want, so if all you miss are roll-up windows, you've got 'em. (I love the rollups!)
   I found the standard Mac mouse a pleasant surprise. It has no button and no wheel. (No, I'm not kidding. And I promise I'll stop saying that.) Since it has no button, you KNOW it doesn't have two buttons or three buttons. You just press down anywhere on the mouse, and you get the effect of a mouse click.
   But I'm a right-click kind of guy. Imagine my astonishment when I realized that my beloved Logitech optical mouse turned itself into a two-button Mac OS X mouse as soon as I plugged it into the G4's USB port. (Modern Macs connect mice and keyboards, and nearly everything else, by USB.)
   Suddenly, I discovered that right clicks do the same thing in OS X as they do in Windows. I get context menus, showing options, when I click the right button. Is that cool or what?
   But not as cool as what else I found. My wheel works, too! It even works better than it does under Windows. I got so excited -- I know, little things really make me happy -- that I searched www.versiontracker.com, the world's best OS X file site, for mouse utility software. I found an ideal program, USB Overdrive X, a $20 program that gives you more options over what the mouse buttons do than you ever thought possible. (Want to open a favorite Web site with a Control-Right-Click? You can do it!)
   USB Overdrive X also lets you speed up your mouse. This is essential, because Apple's choices for mouse speed are far too limiting. You can find USB Overdrive X at www.usboverdrive.com.
   More hot programs for OS X:
   OmniWeb, one of the world's best Web browsers, from www.omnigroup.com ($30).
   ACDSee, a superb image viewer, from www.acdsystems.com ($40).
   Tinker Tool, the best all-in-one interface tweaker for OS X, from www.bresink.de/osx (free).
   iPhoto, the superb image manager that comes with modern Macs. (If you have an older Mac that you've installed OS X on but don't have iPhoto, get it now from www.apple.com/iphoto/download (free).
   Entourage, an outstanding personal information manager that includes one of the best e-mail programs you can find for any computer, included in Microsoft Office v.X, software stores only, no download ($350 on up, depending on the deal -- but you get the OS X versions of Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint, too).
   SlashDock, a cute little "docklet" that displays Mac-related (and geeky!) headlines from many sites, along with what's new at Version Tracker and your own bids at eBay, from homepage.mac.com/stas (no "www" in the address; free).
   SWG, another Dock program, actually called "Son of Weather Grok," which shows weather data from various locations, from www.stimpsoft.com (free).
   
   Next: Windows users aren't being forgotten. I'll tell you about a fabulous image printing program for Windows, along with reports on nine other great new programs.