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©6-15-01 David Schultz
[Get your very own "Classic
Countdown Worksheet" like the one below
(but better looking!) in PDF format. Click here
("upgrades.pdf). Note: 497k download.]
Okay, you all know, if you have
been reading my recent material, that I am an
early
adopter of OS X. I have taken the full dive
into it and currently run it on both of my machines
full-time. I have lost none of my old applications
thanks to Classic, which on my RAM-packed G4
runs quickly, or quickly enough for me.
Though Classic is a great thing,
I still long for complete X-ness in my system.
That is, I can hardly wait until the day comes
when I take the last Classic application off
my machine and am running OS X in full native
mode. I want Carbon applications. No, I REALLY
want Carbon and Cocoa apps.
And then there is the issue of
exactly how much it will cost to be Classic
free. I address that below.
It is true that development along
these lines has been faster than I thought it
would be. The trouble with writing about OS
X is that what you say is out of date almost
as soon as you say it! There have been some
developers with the foresight to start building
Carbon applications many months ago. Some of
the applications that have come out which I
use and like are Brickhouse,
Firewalk
X,
iRecall, Password
Master, TinkerTool
and osxsettings.
Most of these are in beta form, but development
is going quickly. I am very happy with these
products so far. But the trouble with some of
these is that Apple may end up building the
functionality they offer into the system. This
has happened with parts of TinkerTool.
And then there are the bigger
names like AOL's AIM software, and of course
AppleWorks 6.1.2. Epson has drivers for my 740i
so that is okay. I will add Transmit
to the list, an ftp tool, and iView
Media Pro. If you don't know about them
go look, for they are nice apps. Oh, and not
to forget, GraphicConverter
has been Carbonized as well, thank goodness.
All of these run well in OS X on my machine.
It seems developers have rewarded me for being
an early adopter — Thanks!!!!
But to be truly X-ed I need some
bigger applications ported to X. These are big
name products, and applications which I consider
necessary. They are necessary in the sense that
(1) I use them everyday or almost everyday (2)
my work (teaching, webmastering, other) requires
the program in some way (3) my machine is better
for having the program installed. (Oh, and some
are necessary fun.) This is not all the apps
I use, but they are necessary ones, so they
count the most to me. Other, smaller programs
I can live without. The day the last one of
these is installed on my machine and I put away
Classic forever is a day not unlike burning
the mortgage after twenty years of paying on
it!! I will throw an OS X Assimilation Party
and you are all invited!
And one more thing — we
want our Cocoa Finder, Steve!
To keep a watch, I have listed
all the apps I need Carbonized or Cocao-ized,
so that I am running fully X. I consider these
necessary and required applications, as I said.
As each one comes out and I get on my machine,
I will update this list : "Classic Countdown"
— a countdown to the complete removal of
Classic applications from my mighty G4. I am
open to any guesses when this will happen, too.
I have an idea, but I will wait to tell you.
So without further hesitation,
I give you my Classic Countdown list. As each
product is Carbonized and installed
on my machine, I will mark the product's "Update
Info" with, what else, Aqua blue: It will
receive an "X" graphic in the far
right column. Stay tuned as it is updated and
we all see the slow movement towards a Classic-free
world! This will be fun. And besides, it will
tell us which developers are on the ball when
it comes to OS X.
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Classic Countdown
to Classic Freedom
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Product
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Description/Info
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Update Info
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Cost
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| Macromedia
Dreamweaver |
Absolutely
essential software for the web site.
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Mum's the
word.
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| Macromedia
Fireworks |
Also essential
to the web site and working with graphics
in Dreamy (above).
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Mum's the
word.
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| Macromedia
Freehand |
Use for design
purposes and charts for classes.
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Version
10 released in May. Received and installed.
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$149
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| Adobe
Photoshop |
Need I say
more.
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No specific
date yet?
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| Adobe
Illustrator |
Use for illustration,
organizational charts and classes.
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No specific
date yet?
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| Adobe
Acrobat |
Use for classes
and business purposes.
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Version
5 announced; not Carbon. Review coming
soon.
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| Office
2001 |
Actually,
I only use Word from this suite.
But Excel is necessary for my wife, and
Entourage is my Email client.
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Announced
for September.
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Estimated $299
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| BBEdit |
Need this
for writing web friendly articles.
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6.1 has come out and we
have it. A bit slow to say the least.
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Free
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| FileMaker
Pro |
Use for classes
(grading etc), and many other tasks.
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Released in May. a bit
incomplete in my opinion (no toolbars
yet, but"promised soon").
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$149
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| ScreenCatcher |
Use for reviews
and tutorials.
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No word
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| SnapzPro |
Use for reviews
and tutorials.
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No word
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| Quicken |
My wife's
essential financial software.
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| Palm
Desktop |
Hey, I am
a Palm Addict. I prefer this to other,
expensive packages.
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No clue here.
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| EndNote |
Necessary
for research.
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"Not
commenting" is the word here.
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| Folders
Synchronizer |
Necessary
for backup with all the drives and data
I have.
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Version
2.1 is out and works great on my machine.
If you have version 2 the upgrade is free.
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Free if you have
version 2.
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| TextSpresso |
Superb for
making web friendly documents printer
friendly, and web unfriendly documents
web friendly. A great text cleaner.
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No word.
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| Toast |
It's Toast!
Titanium has just come out. Development
is moving forward?
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Unclear
- they say 5 has the "looks"
of X but that doesn't mean it's Carbonized.
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| FunnelWeb
Enterprise |
Use for reading
logs for the web site. They say the X
version at MWSF.
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Announced
but waiting.
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| TechTool
Pro / Drive
10 |
Maintenance.
Actually, I am not sure TTP will be developed
or whether Drive 10 will replace it. Do
you?
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D10 Announced
for MWNY
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$69
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| Starry
Night Pro |
Fun is a
necessity too! The truth is out there.
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No word.
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| AccountEdge |
For private
business purposes.
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Early version
released for free so far, but not installed.
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Free, for the moment.
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| DataViz
DocumentsToGo |
Needed to
get Palm, G4/Pismo, and Office to talk
to each other in a simple way. Also reads
PDFs.
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The way DataViz develops
I bet this comes out soon.
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| DataViz
MacLinkPlus Deluxe |
A lot of translation going
on here.
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The way DataViz develops
I bet this comes out soon.
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Spellchecker
Grammarian
2
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Hey, if you've read anything
by me you know I need these! (And don't
use them like I should.)
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People are begging C &
D about these apps but no word yet.
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| SoundJam
MP Plus |
Okay, C&G said they
had a Carbon port. Apple bought the technology
and the port disappeared. I think SoundJam
sounds better than iTunes, but if Apple
would come out with a real "Equalizer"
I would stay love iTunes. Well, I love
it anyway and use it all the time.
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Okay, this was killed!
It's a goner, dude. Hey Steve, how about
a REAL equilizer?
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NA - killed app syndrome
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Too many Photoshop plug
ins to name.
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I have a lot installed
on my machine. Yet it takes PS only 13
seconds to load in Classic! We'll keep
track of them separately. Stay tuned.
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A way to get my LaserWriter
Select 360 working (AppleTalk, LocalTalk).
Ideas? |
OS X doesn't
support LocalTalk. So I can't use this
printer unless I boot from Classic (I
have a Stealth
Serial Port card). Waiting to see
what will happen. GeeThree says unless
Apple supports LocalTalk they can't do
anything. I love this printer and do not
wish to give it up. |
I now have Farallon's iPrint
and will set it up soon. I will report
back to you to see if this saves my LocalTalk
printer.
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Development is underway,
and going quicker than I thought. Thanks
to all future-lokking developers - keep
'em comg!
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The cost
here includes Drive 10 which I have not
yet ordered ad which will be released
later.
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Grand total to upgrade so
far ...
$367
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What?! $367
bucks already?! In the words of Principle Skinner
on the Simpsons, "Good Lord man, I can't
afford that! I'm an educator!"
Hum ... I wonder how long this
will take? How much will cost in the end? We
will get an idea as I start checking these off
after they have been installed on my machine.
So, when will I burn that mortgage? If you have
a guess for the specific date when my transition
will be complete, send it my way with "Classic
Countdown" in the subject. Stay tuned ...
but we will update this page and article every
time something on it comes out.
And be sure to get your own Classic
Countdown PDF
form and tell us how much it will cost you.
And be sure to let us know in our forums
how much it will cost you (or your employer).
David
Schultz
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