Internet Internet Programs
BitTorrent
BitTorrent
Version: 4.1.7 Date: Nov 1, 2005
Description: The next wave of peer-to-peer file-sharing.
Camino
Camino
Version: 0.9a2+ (2005082917) Date: Aug 29, 2005
Description: Another browser from the Mozilla organization. This one is written specifically for MacOS, so it feels a little more Mac-like. Someone maintains G4-optimized versions, too.
DynDNS Updater
DynDNS Updater
Version: 1.1.1 Date: Jul 12, 2005
Description: Use this to auto-update your dynamic DNS accounts at DynDNS.
Entourage
Entourage
Version: 10.0.0 (1309) Date: Oct 19, 2001
Description: Microsoft's "mid-range" mail client is outstanding. It's even better than Outlook Express (no longer supported on the Mac), but isn't able to function as a full Outlook/Exchange client. It comes close though...
Interarchy
Interarchy
Version: 7.3.3 Date: Apr 14, 2005
Description: An fairly comprehensive suite - FTP, SFTP, FTP Mirroring, Website downloading, etc.
MSIE
Internet Explorer
Version: 5.2.3 Date: Jun 3, 2003
Description: An amazingly good browser - way better than the Windows version of IE!
Mozilla
Mail
Version: 2.1 Date: July 13. 2006
Description: I was not a fan of version 1 of Apple's Mail program, but I've made version 2 my default email app. There are various third-party plug-ins and tools available too. Mail Act-On is probably my favorite as it lets you define new rules that can be run via shortcut-keys.
Mozilla
Mozilla
Version: 1.6 Date: Jan 13, 2004
Description: Incredible browser! Tabbed browsing. Blocked popups. What more could you want? Try some themes (like Orbit 3+1 official or unofficial) and other add-ons (like PrefBar) from MozDev! Here's a cool way to add the Home Button back! Mozilla.org also has some good information on customizing Mozilla and writing some killer pages w/ DOM, CSS, and JS. You can find more themes at Deskmod. Don't forget about MozillaZine for more general info, good links, and forums .
Firefox
Mozilla Firefox
Version: 2.0.0.1 Date: Oct 11, 2006
Description: Firefox is the stand-alone implementation of Mozilla's web browser. They're constantly releasing new versions. You can also try out PowerPC-optimized builds.

Firefox supports a vast and varied set of Extensions; try some from Mozilla Update, MozDev's ExtensionRoom, or The Extensions Mirror.

Also, look at some of the great projects at MozDev.

Or, try some themes from Mozilla Update or MozDev. My favorite themes are Orbit 3+1 (here or here) and Qute.

My favorite extensions are:

You can also search right from the toolbar using the built-in Mycroft (based on Apple's Sherlock search plugins).

Safari
Safari
Version: 5.0.1 Date: Aug 22, 2010
Description: Apple's browser gets a lot of credit for being fast, but I find it, well, ugly. Firefox has more features that I like, but isn't very stable on MacOS X. So, that leaves Safari as the only real choice.

UPDATE: Try Safari Extensions before the items below!

Thankfully, there are quite a few Safari plugins that help out a lot.

  • Start with AcidSearch (free) to customize Safari's search bar (this makes it behave more like Firefox's search bar, whose Mycroft plugins are based on Apple's own Sherlock search engine!).
  • Or, look at SafariKeywords (free) or Sogundi (free) for a "keyword" driven search plugin (e.g., "imdb star wars" searches IMDB for "Star Wars").
  • Also, try PithHelmet ($10) to add content-filtering (ad-blocking). PithHelmet requires the free SIMBL (Smart InputManager Bundle Loader), a MacOS Input Manager.
  • Another way to block ads is with SafariBlock (free).
  • Safari WebDevAdditions (free) provides the ability to views outlines around HTML structure (<h1>, <table>, etc.). Or, install SafariSource (free) to turn on syntax-coloring when viewing the HTML source of a web page. Both of these require SIMBL (free).
  • Also, consider SafariStand (free) or Saft ($12), two very cool plugins.
  • You can also enable Safari's Debug menu easily with Safari Enhancer (free).

Safari's Bookmarks are stored in XML format, but Safari Bookmark Exporter (free) can convert them to HTML (for Netscape/Mozilla) or just about any other browser format (don't confuse this with Safari Bookmarks Extractor (free), which is not as good!).

Thunderbird ftp
Thunderbird
Version: 1.5 Date: Dec 1, 2005
Description: Outstanding mail client, from the same folks who brought us Mozilla and Firefox!
Transmit ftp
Transmit FTP
Version: 2.6.2 Date: Dec 18, 2003
Description: (no review)

The information above represents my experience with a certain version of each piece of software. I have no vested interest in any of these programs, and only provide this info as a guide (your experience and preferences may vary greatly!).

The version number listed is the latest version I have tried. To download the latest version, click on the name or the icon of the program, which should take you to the program's homepage, or to a software archive site. You can also track new releases at MacUpdate and VersionTracker.