Office Software:

Try these before you spend money on something else!

NeoOffice — Neo Office is an OS X port of OpenOffice.

OpenOffice — OpenOffice is an open source derivative of Sun’s Star Office and a very competent multiplatform alternative to Microsoft Office. OS X users will need to install the X11.app in order to run OpenOffice, which can be found installation discs that came with your computer.

AbiWord — AbiWord is an excellent multiplatform word processor for the platform of your choice, including OS X.

Apple Downloads — The above programs and more are available directly from Apple’s site.

Open Source Mac — “A simple list of free, open-source software for Mac OS X.”

Graphics Software:

GIMP — GIMP is the GNU Image Manipulation Program, a free and very competent alternative to Adobe Photoshop. The GIMP requires an X Windowing Layer provided by the X11.app. The X11.app comes with OS X but is not installed by default.

POV-Ray — This little program requires coding skills, but the results are worth it!. POV-Ray dates back to the Amiga and nowadays runs on Mac OS 9 and OS X, and just about any other platform.

Web Browsers:

Safari — Safari is Apple’s official web browser for OS X. Update to the latest version here.

Firefox — One of the most popular browsers on the internet, second only to Internet Explorer. Mac users may prefer Camino, (see below) which is based on the same rendering engine but is styled for the Macintosh.

Camino — Like Firefox, Camino is another Mozilla based web browser, but optimized for and styled for Apple’s OS X.

Opera — Opera is a lightweight standards complaint multiplatform web browser with integrated BitTorrent support. Opera can pretend to be Internet Explorer.

Classic Macintosh Web Browsers:

Internet Explorer 5.1.7 - OS 9 (direct download) — The best browser for classic PowerPC Macs. Unfortunately no longer supported by Microsoft. This download is available from the archives available on evolt.

iCab — One of the few browsers still supported for classic Macs. iCab pro requires a $29 license. There is an OS X version of iCab as well, but why pay for an alternative to Safari?

Wanna-Be — The Wanna-Be Web Browser is a text-only web browser for Mac OS 7.5 and above. Thanks to Peter Carras of COWMUG for this link!

Apple Shopping Sites:

Other World Computing — “Serving the Mac Universe since 1988.” Highly recommended by Bob Donaldson and other members of North Pittsburgh Apple User Group.

MacResource — A place to find Macintosh peripherals and accessories.

Classic Macintosh:

System 7 Today — The name pretty much says it all; System 7 Today contains resources and an active forum for 68K and PowerPC Macs running System 7. The site itself is hosted on System 7! System 7 is my choice for use when emulating a 68k Mac.

Lowendmac — How much mac do you need? Guides and specifications for older Macintosh models.

The Vintage Mac Museum — The Vintage Mac Museum features Motorola and PowerPC based Macs. Perfect for lovers of beige.

Low-End Mac FAQ — Technical information on older Macs.

The Apple Museum — History of the Apple Computer company.

Mel’s Macintosh Universe — Mel owns a number of classic Macintosh computers.

Mac 512 — Classic Macintosh web site.

Jagshouse — Resources for classic Macintosh users.

Emulators:

Running an emulator on your computer increases the range of software that you’ll be able to run. Setting up an emulator also enhance your knowledge of computer operating systems! Start with mini-vMac; it’s the easiest to set up and has been ported to every computer system and electronic gadget imaginable.

Emaculation — A site dedicated to emulating Apple Macintosh computers. Includes an excellent Beginners’ Guide to Emulating a Macintosh. Emaculation should be your first stop on the road to emulating a classic mac.

Basilisk II — Basilisk II emulates the 68K Motorola architecture and can run Mac OS 8.1 on Linux, Windows, or the new Intel Macs. Basilisk II requires a (Legal please!) copy of OS 8.1 and an image of a Mac Quadra ROM. Someone in one of Pittsburgh’s user groups might have that kind of stuff lying around.

OS X BasiliskII port — An OS X version of the Basilisk II emulator that uses the Aqua interface.

Mini-vMac — Mini-vMac emulates the Macintosh Plus on Linux, Windows, OS 9 and OS X Macs, PDAs, Nintendo DS, and more! Like the Basilisk II program above you’ll need a ROM image from an old Mac Plus.

SheepShaver — Enables you to run the PowerPC versions of the Classic Mac OS. It runs in native mode on PowerPC systems and uses emulation on Intel systems. For Mac, Windows, and Linux. Thanks to Peter Carras of COWMUG for this link!

Systems 6 and 7 are available from Apple’s download directory free of charge.

Parallels — Parallels software will allow you to run Windows as an application on any Intel powered Mac. A free trail is available for download.