What you say? No software for Windows? That is ridiculous! Have you lost your mind.

Well that is how I sometimes feel when my Windows only, using friends and clients tell me there is no software for Macs. They believe in this myth and were apparently brainwashed. Their statements are certainly not based on research or actual use. As the facts tell otherwise. Many of the “firsts” in desktop computing were on Macintosh, sometimes years before Windows. There are over 12,609 native OS X applications available for the Macintosh according to osx.hyperjeff.net. That is not counting OS 9 applications that still run in classic mode. Or the thousands of UNIX applications that run in X11 which is the X window version that is included on the OS X install disk. Applications made for earlier Macintosh OS 9 and lower can be still be run in on OS X with classic installed.

So now I ask you. IS there a large amount of software available to Mac OS X? Well Stephen they say, I was talking about the major applications I NEED everyday! Well, so am I. Let me go “out on a limb” here. I will state I could NOT switch back entirely to Windows easily. Why you may ask? Because as my outrageous title says “There is NO software for Windows”. At least what I use everyday. But I still use ALL the same major software applications that Windows users depend on. How is this so you may ask?

I am not writing this to say “Macs are better” or “Windows suck”. I am just going to dispell the old myth about software availability on these two platforms. Maybe then you may be able to see why I do most of my computing these days on a Mac. See this is NOT about religion or being in a “cult” like I hear from some people. It is about productivity, ease of use, stability, reliability, innovative software, and using the latest technology now. The real truth about these two platforms. What may surprise you as many of the most popular and older commercial applications were actually available on the Macintosh, before Windows.

Just about every major commercial application that is popular has a Mac OS X version. Or at least has a Macintosh replacement that is as good or in many cases even better. Yes, this includes almost the entire Adobe product line such as Photoshop, GoLive, Acrobat, InDesign, Illustrator, After Effects, and the Elements versions. Macromedia product line is all available to Mac OS X such as DreamWeaver, Flash, FreeHand, Director, Contribute, and FireWorks. Quark is available. Avid is available. Microsoft Office that includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Entourage (better than Outlook) are available. Office actually runs better and has more features on OS X. Of course AOL, Quicken, QuickBooks, MYOB, FileMaker Pro, Palm, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Skype, Netscape, Real Player, Windows Media Player, and even Lotus Notes have OS X versions. Some commercial software companies even will, if pushed a bit, will offer you a “no charge” or a competitive price if you wanted to switch your license from Windows to Macintosh.

Let be tell you what is NOT available to Windows that I use regularly on OS X (I provide a table and links at the end of this story). Delicious Library, Sticky Brain, SubEtherEdit, PodQuest, Snapz Pro X, Screenography, Art Directors Toolkit, BBEdit, Chartsmith, FastDVDCopy, Live Channel,, WireCast, Nicecast, Airfoil, WireTap, MegaSeg, World Book, Audio HiJack, OmniOutliner, OmniGraffle, QPict, RapidWeaver, iSpeak it, KisMAC, MacStumbler, iStumbler, Sailing Clicker, Carbon Copy Cloner, Boinx iStopMotion, EyeTV, EyeHome, Roxio Toast, Roxio Jam, Disclabel, Deck, Peak, SoundSoap, Popcorn, Fetch, Konfabulator, FastTrack Scheduler, Poisoned, PodWorks, Pod2Go, iPodRip, CyTV, Virtual PC, Inspiration, Softpress Freeway Pro, Extensis Suitcase X1, and Stone Studio. There are NO Windows versions of any of these applications. In most cases there are few substitutions available on Windows that as rich on features and as easy to use. With only a few exceptions.

What is “built-in” or comes included with OS X that there is really no Windows counterpart? iCal, Address Book, Keychain, Dashboard, Safari 2.0, Terminal (for UNIX), X11, Grab, Migration Assistant, System Profiler, Automator, AppleScript, DVD Player, Font Book, iChat AV, iSync, Sherlock, Stickies, Spotlight, VoiceOver, Xgrid, Bonjour, Preview, PDF, Expose, Inkwell, FileVault, Websharing, and Image Capture.

The Apple applications that are OS X only. Many of them are the leading applications in what they do among all users. They include QT Broadcaster, Final Cut Pro, Motion, LiveType, Soundtrack Pro, iLife - iTunes (this one is available for Windows), iPhoto, iDVD, GarageBand, iMovieHD, iWork - Keynote, Pages, Apple Remote Desktop, AppleWorks, DVD Studio Pro, Shake, and Logic Pro.

Then there is .Mac a subscription service ($99, a year) that includes email and syncing across all your Macs of iDisk, Bookmarks, keychains, mail, online Address Book, and online Calendars. It includes a homepage, online storage, backups, learning center, discounts, antivirus, and other free software. One reason I am more productive on a Mac is due to the integration in the OS and among applications. Plus with .Mac all my computers have the same up to date files, bookmarks, mail, keychains, address book, and calendars. All synced without me even thinking about it. I never have to think if I am working on the latest version of a document or where did I bookmark the important website.

OK, you say, tell me some of what is NOT available for the Macintosh. Here you go. Visio, Access, FrontPage, Outlook, MS Money, Encarta, Publisher, Project, and Picture It. What do all these applications have in common? They are all made by one company, Microsoft. Now how does this affect Mac users? Well mostly it doesn’t. Because many of these applications are either not the industries leader and all have a better or comparable replacement that does run on OS X. Examples are provided on tables at end of this story.

A few other applications that run only on Windows are Sony Vegas, Adobe Audition, Adobe Encore, AutoCAD, ACT, and SoftImage XSI. Most of these applications are not used by the average user. There are applications that are comparable replacements that does run on OS X. Many of them are actually better.

Except for some very obscure programs, that is about it that affect most users. See software companies including Microsoft are in business to make money. If there is a demand, the app will be available. Some of the applications that are not available on the Macintosh are sometimes due to the Mac comparable replacement having a loyal user base with no need for that application. You can of course always run Virtual PC from Microsoft on OS X and run Windows for that Windows application you may want to run. Do such luck running OS X on Windows.

Many of the applications running on Macintosh that are not available to Windows are due to OS X advanced technologies. They allow for these applications to be built fast and easily. I contend there are many applications average users would use on OS X that are not available on Windows. With Microsoft taking so many years between upgrades. It will be years before Windows will get to use anything like Spotlight searching, Dashboard, PDF built in, zero config networking, iSync, and all the applications that “tap” into this.

But I am a developer, you say. I am a power user. Well how about Terminal with UNIX shell scripting, PHP, Apache, MySQL, all being able to run on OS X client! All the QuickTime apps, Zend Studio, Xcode, etc. All the Linux and UNIX apps. How about being able to run OS X, OS 9, Windows XP (or any flavour, or multiple flavours at the same time), Red Hat Linux, and Yellow Dog Linux all on the same PowerBook for field work as I do. ONE machine. All without viruses, spyware, and adware. No need to tell developers this, so many already have OS X and use it, even if it is not their main platform. Check out LinuxWork, Internet 2, DefCon, or “hackers” conventions!

So for me, and plenty of other users, there is NO software for Windows. At least not what I have enjoyed using in my digital lifestyle.

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