If Apple asked "you" what apps you would like that are not available on the Mac...

12357

Comments

  • Reply 81 of 123
    kim kap solkim kap sol Posts: 2,987member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Dave K.

    Sorry. I was a little strong. Like I said, I have only really used Access. I have heard great things from the folks who use FileMaker Pro. I have tried that app. Never been impressed with it. Talk about a old interface.





    I agree...FileMaker Pro is something out of the System 7.0 twilight zone. I'm not impressed with it either.



    Something new is needed...I'm not sure a port of Access is the way to go. Sure, there are thousands upon thousands of Access DBs out there but I can't imagine how these will be around for much longer.
  • Reply 82 of 123
    dave k.dave k. Posts: 1,306member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by kim kap sol

    Let's just say that VB.NET is quite a different beast.



    In that sense. Yes. I totally agree with you. VB.Net is NOT VB. VB 2005 does go back to some VB 6 roots, but even that is stretching it.



    I am wondering when MS will integrate the .NET syntax into MS Office VBA.



    Dave
  • Reply 83 of 123
    frank777frank777 Posts: 5,839member
    Filemaker's interface is a bit outdated, due to the fact that it's a cross-platform app.

    Adobe's primary interface ain't exactly heavenly either.



    I have no modern info about Access, but the MS Office oldtimers talk about it the same way publishers talk about Publisher.

    That is, that it was inherent ill-designed and desperately needs to disappear from the face of the Earth.

    Again, this news is several years old. So for all I know, Access may have been fixed.



    I do wish Jobs would pay attention to Filemaker, or that those in power at Filemaker would pay attention themselves.



    Finally Dave, Filemaker does allow you to visually create relationships between tables.
  • Reply 84 of 123
    resres Posts: 711member
    1) FrameMaker!

    2) FrameMaker!!

    3) FrameMaker!!!!!!



    I curse the day that Adobe purchased FrameMaker. When they stopped making it for the Mac Angles cried and cold cruel laughter echoed throughout the realms of hell... well, maybe not, but is sure upset me.
  • Reply 85 of 123
    Quote:

    Originally posted by JeffDM



    Quote:

    Originally posted by mortigi tempo



    Did you know Apple doesn't currently design its products on Macs...





    It probably wouldn't be too surprising. Supposedly Intel used VAXes in fabbing their own chips for a couple decades.



    Currently, they use a well known 3D design package on Unix workstations. There is a move to make sure that Macs are designed on Macs. This push hasn't just come from Apple though - apparently the third party actively offered a software port to them in exchange for a commitment to purchase a certain quantity of the software. This held up the process for a while, but my understanding is that this is now over, and the port is set to be announced within the next few weeks, and Apple will make the announcement and try to wring publicity out of this.



    Could do a lot of good for the credibility of OS X. It also partly explains why Apple offer a workstation-class graphics card (in the Nvidia Quadro) in the PowerMacs when there's no real benefit to having such things on the Mac at the moment because there aren't yet any certified apps to use it with.



    Personally, I suspect (or hope, maybe) that this may force Apple to give some details of their 64-bit x86 strategy, and possibly points to the release of new towers. I don't know if the app is a UB or Intel on;y, but they're sure as hell not going to using this on iMacs...
  • Reply 86 of 123
    trobertstroberts Posts: 702member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by a_greer

    I would pay ~$40-50 more than the regular price for a "pro" version of graffle that could convert Visio assets...maybe I should write the people over at Omni a letter.



    This is what OmniGraffle Pro 4.x has to say about Visio:



    OmniGraffle Professional 4 now uses the recently-opened Visio XML schemas, so there have been many improvements to the Visio XML import/export function, and some of the newer feature sets (such as the Bezier drawing tool) bring OmniGraffle's Visio support to a higher level. Additional, there is now support for exporting to the Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) format. SVG can display OmniGraffle documents beautifully at any size, whether you're viewing them on the screen of a mobile phone or on a large print banner.
  • Reply 87 of 123
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    3DS Max since it's still very popular in PC game development.
  • Reply 88 of 123
    gene cleangene clean Posts: 3,481member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Placebo

    3DS Max since it's still very popular in PC game development.



    If it's popular in PC game development - it's crap.
  • Reply 89 of 123
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Gene Clean

    If it's popular in PC game development - it's crap.



    I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it on those grounds, though I haven't used the program in a long time. Like any other piece of software (including Apple's), it did have some quirks. The thing it had going for it is that it was powerful and easy to use.
  • Reply 90 of 123
    bikertwinbikertwin Posts: 566member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Darth_Apple

    .. what would they be? and why?



    To narrow it a bit you can only choose 3 apps that you personally could use that are not available or 3 apps that you would like to see that you may not use but you know it would help bring in more market share.



    (note: this isn't to convince software companies to create or port there apps, instead it's to have Apple create similar apps that are user friendly)




    Here's my list:
    • Oh, please, a QuickBooks replacement. The Mac version is from the Dark Ages.

    • Quicken replacement, while we're at it

    • A photo editor to work alongside Aperture that's much easier to use than Photoshop. It, like Aperture, should be aimed at photographers, not designers. (Nothing wrong with designers, we just need software that's designed for photographers.)

  • Reply 91 of 123
    Quote:

    Originally posted by bikertwin

    Here's my list:Oh, please, a QuickBooks replacement. The Mac version is from the Dark Ages.
    Quicken replacement, while we're at it
    A photo editor to work alongside Aperture that's much easier to use than Photoshop. It, like Aperture, should be aimed at photographers, not designers. (Nothing wrong with designers, we just need software that's designed for photographers.)




    What's so hard to use about Photoshop? What changes would you make to it for photographers?
  • Reply 92 of 123
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    It's fairly hard to use, but it is also extremely powerful, and I think Adobe has a decent job at the interface. Could be better though, and I bet over time it will improve. Especially if Apple buys them.
  • Reply 93 of 123
    Quote:

    Originally posted by gregmightdothat

    What's so hard to use about Photoshop? What changes would you make to it for photographers?



    Hmmm... where should I start?



    Delete a color swatch, then reload the set--oops! It's gone. Photoshop saves the swatch set even if you don't specifically save it, once you delete a color. Ouch.



    Try explaining to a beginner how to load, edit, and save swatches or patterns or brushes and make them the default.



    Attributes that should/could be saved as a style (like a Photo Filter adjustment layer) instead have to be applied by Actions if you want your own custom settings. That's like running a word processor macro just to turn some text into bold.



    The Curves tools is useful. But where is it measured in f/stops or Zones? There is no photographic terminology anywhere in Photoshop.



    Resize an object and, by default, it will not respect proportions. You have to hold down Option to resize proportionately. Why would a photographer ever want to size an image disproportionately? Isn't the default behavior backwards?



    Just stuff like that.
  • Reply 94 of 123
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by JeffDM

    I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it on those grounds, though I haven't used the program in a long time. Like any other piece of software (including Apple's), it did have some quirks. The thing it had going for it is that it was powerful and easy to use.



    We had a discussion about 3DSMax a while ago. My professional opinion is that it's not adequate to do cutting edge work, and that it's rendering engine is junk. Ultimately, the artist matters more than the tool, but I don't think it's a big loss not to have 3DSMax for the mac. There are other 3D programs that can work with 3DSMax files (almost all of them). I'm also not a huge fan of Lightwave, but it has a fairly similar toolset as 3DSMax and it is available for the mac.



    You've probably heard of Lightwave and might want to try it. It comes with a substantial educational discount if you're applicable (academicsuperstore.com). It's a polygon-centric modeler, and the generally-held understanding is that it's easier to work with this kind of workflow than it is to work with, say, an ACIS workflow. This is because you can visually inspect the progress in very small steps. With ACIS approaches, the user has to build more complex objects "from scratch."
  • Reply 95 of 123
    Going into what Splinemodel said, their is another program that I think is great. I have used 3ds on a PC since R3, and after R6 i just wanted to try different programs. I tried FromZ, Rhino 3D, Maya, Lightwave, Truespace, and Blender (We had them at school), but then a friend showed me a Maxon program called Cinema 4D. I liked it a lot, and it reminds me of 3DS in some ways. I think its a great alturnative to 3DS if you don't have a PC. I only use C4D now, I do have 3DS on my computer, but after getting used to C4D, I never went back to Max. It's very powerful, and it't not hard to use. If you can use Max, you can use C4D for sure. Check it out, I think all you guys with Macs will find it atractive. They have just released a Intel-Mac version too which is a HUGE plus! Only if Adobe would get off their @$$es now.
  • Reply 96 of 123
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    C4D is pretty solid too. It runs well on the mac, and is easier to pick up than FormZ. I would have recommended it first (ahead of lightwave) but people who insist on 3DS are usually a little bit masochistic, and would be a little bit upset with C4D.
  • Reply 97 of 123
    I don't know, to me, it's great. I love the layout, I like the features and plug-ins you can get for it, and for the money, you really can't beat it. 3DS is a good application, but I think C4D is just as good. I've used both a lot, and I think C4D handles high poly modeling just as good, if not better in some aspects. The render in C4D is great, and it's not complicated to use. I do understand that 3DS users are loyal, and it does have a lot of great features, but if someone wants to go all Mac, and not have a PC, I would definitly suggest checking out C4D before Lightwave. Lightwave to me just doesn't make sence. You know how you open a program and it just feels right? I don't know how to explain it, when I opened C4D it just made sence to me from the start. Just my two cents.
  • Reply 98 of 123
    C4D and lightwave are very nice and all, but whether they are better than 3DS Max or not doesn't mean that it wouldn't be great to have 3DS on the Mac. Its entrenchment in places like architectural practices (along with AutoCAD) keeps Macs out of many of them. The question often isn't whether there is a satisfactory or even superior alternative.
  • Reply 99 of 123
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by mortigi tempo

    C4D and lightwave are very nice and all. . .



    You're missing the point. AutoCAD and 3DSMax don't exist for mac, and they won't anytime soon. At work, you use whatever platform is given to you. At home, you may want a mac, and if you use Autodesk products at work, the point is that there are alternatives you can use at home that are very similar, and can read/write the same file types.
  • Reply 100 of 123
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Splinemodel

    You're missing the point. AutoCAD and 3DSMax don't exist for mac, and they won't anytime soon. At work, you use whatever platform is given to you. At home, you may want a mac, and if you use Autodesk products at work, the point is that there are alternatives you can use at home that are very similar, and can read/write the same file types.



    No, I realise that. I'm just saying that whether or not C4D is better than 3DS, and whatever you think of AutoCAD these are the apps that it would be nice to be able to have on the Mac ? as per the title of the thread ? whether or not there exists viable alternatives.



    And this is particularly true of AutoCAD. I'm glad Vectorworks is around, and it provides a lot of fuctionality. But it would be massively better for the Mac if AutoCAD was still available.
Sign In or Register to comment.