Getting Started

Obviously a lot depends on what you want to do with your iMac. Assuming that, given the iMac's built-in modem and connectivity, you'll want to get on the Internet quickly, you'll need a Web browser. Most ISPs include Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 free on their installation disks.

You will no doubt want to do some word processing and perhaps some accounts. Some top choices include Office Mac 10 (in full or upgrade editions), Microsoft Office 2001 for Mac, or Apple's own AppleWorks 6.2.4 Mac . This isn't as powerful as Office but it's a lot cheaper. If you don't intend to use the iMac for business use then it's an ideal package for simple letters. It now includes a presentation tool as well. MacLink Plus lets you open any file sent to you, from any platform, and in any format. It's very intuitive to use, and is a venerable and respected part of the Mac's toolkit. For accounts, take a look at Do$h Cashbook which is a very simple way to manage your business's cashflow, including VAT.

If you have a CD re-writer, then the best burning package around is Toast Titanium, which lets you make your own music, data, and video CDs, and also integrates very well with other software such as iMovie and iTunes.

You definitely think about buying some form of system protection. Although Macs are inherently stable they can still go wrong and suffer from virus attacks. Invest in a copy of Norton Systemworks, which includes Norton Utilities, Norton AntiVirus and Norton Spring Cleaning. This will protect you from nasty viruses and allow you to keep your Mac in tip-top condition.

Power Users & Business

What if you intend to buy a more powerful G4 series Mac for serious business use? Anyone who has electronic documents will find that the PDF format dominates the market. This is Adobe's, and the creation software is Acrobat ( full version). With Acrobat, you can create, encrypt, attach secure signatures to documents, and ensure that no-one else can alter them without your permission (particularly useful for legal documents). Version 5 also has functionality that allows virtual meetings, in which an Internet or network posted document can be highlighted and edited simultaneously, by multiple users. MacLink Plus lets you open any file sent to you, from any platform, and in any format. It's very intuitive to use, and is a venerable and respected part of the Mac's toolkit. If you need to do some serious database work, try FileMaker Pro 6.0 ( full version). This is a proven database tool that is widely used in business, and this version is both PC and Mac compatible. For accounts, take a look at Do$h Cashbook which is a very easy to use way to manage your business's cashflow, including VAT. For sending and receiving large files via e-mail you need a compression and expansion tool. Stuffit Deluxe 6.5 is the drag and drop compression classic and far easier to use and better designed than its WinZip PC equivalent. ViaVoice 3.0 for Mac OS X lets you train your Mac to take voice commands to operate certain software, as well as cutting out the need for typing. Using the included headset, its worth taking time to properly configure it, and accustom it to your inflections, as them it becomes easy to dictate documents straight into your favourite programs. Conflict Catcher 9.0 is a great idea for a utility and is one which you will not be able to live without, once sampled. It is a diagnostic tool that tells you which programs, applications, utilities or system software are potentially conflicting, as such conflicts are one of the most common causes of crashing and freezing. Power users and beginners alike will benefit from this helping hand. If you are not a serious graphics professional but need to produce business documents and brochures, then Adobe PageMaker 7 is an easy to use but powerful DTP solution. The powerful G4 makes light work also of serious graphics tools, and the section below outlines some of the major graphics releases.

Graphics Professionals

The Mac has always been synonymous with graphics and design and it still dominates this sector. With the onset of Web design and desktop video, professionals still prefer the Mac to a PC.

Professional desktop publishing used to be a one-horse race with QuarkXpress 5.0 Mac in a field of its own. It's still the standard but today has a serious competitor in the shape of Adobe InDesign 2.0 which, at a much cheaper price, is beginning to win converts from Quark users, many of whom are happy to see Quark have some competition. InDesign has won plaudits from the Mac press.

If you want to move beyond iMovie for video editing, then Premiere 6.5 is the most comprehensive, powerful and flexible software that you can buy. It is a very impressive and stable release. If you weren't a convert before, Premiere's strong new audio tools, digital-video smarts and Web features may impress you

Adobe is the clear leader in graphics applications with Photoshop 7.0 (in full and upgrade editions) and Illustrator 10.0 sharing a common interface. Adobe have also introduced Elements, which offers extremely high-quality image editing, as well as tutorials and more friendly interface, for a very attractive price. Some, however, prefer FreeHand 10's interface to Illustrator's. There are some great value bundles, which offer multiple titles for less cost than each item individually such asDesign Collection 6.0. Also consider Painter 7 which offers a naturalistic illustration solution.

Web design may be something you want to pursue and Macromedia is the class leader with Dreamweaver MX. Macromedia regularly offer bundles, which are two or more pieces of software packaged together, and sold at a price cheaper than the software individually. Currently, Macromedia offer: Studio MX, Student Studio, which includes Flash, Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Freehand.

Macromedia also offers Flash MX (full or upgrade) which allows you to design animated effects especially for the Web. Bryce 5 is a powerful 3-D landscape-rendering tool, and version 5 introduces many improvements--new Tree and Light labs as well as new Metaball and Tree objects; new enhanced rendering options are combined with network rendering facilities to dramatically improve the quality of Bryce's resulting landscapes whether output as high quality static images or as animated sequences.

And don't forget that in addition to commercial software there is still plenty of shareware available for cool utilities and accessories at the TuCows site (www.tucows.com).

Paul Fisher is a writer specialising in IT and software developments. He currently lives in Paris.

Paul Fisher is a writer specialising in IT and software developments. He currently lives in Paris.