I love free software for Windows and Macintosh.

After reading articles about the best Macintosh software at Andy Budd, Futurosity, Garrett Dimon, Macslack, TUAW, Whitespace, YourTotalSite, and for Windows at Digital Web Magazine about free tools for freelancing, I decided to incorporate some of their ideas into my article. After having just purchased a Mac, I was in search of the best [free] software I could find. I would be starting from scratch, not having ever owned or used a Macintosh, so I figured I could make a nice, usable list for myself and some of my friends who are about to make the same plunge I did. I not only wanted to replicate some of the software on my PC, but I was really aiming to replace the PC with my Mac. In essence, a complete migration. So, here’s the list of the best freeware tools I found:


Antivirus Software

Win: AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition

Mac: Clam AntiVirus

If you have a PC, you are under attack. I heard of a report recently that said if you have a PC connected to the internet, within 12 minutes, you’ll be under attack in some form or fashion which could cripple your computer or worse, steal your identity. Clam AV was nice enough to find a virus in my browser’s cache, but as for AVG, I haven’t used it yet. Updates can be scheduled regularly with AVG and you can double your defenses if you combine an anti-virus program with a spyware blocker like Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE Personal. For another free anti-virus package, check out avast! 4 Home Edition.

Audio Editing

Win: WavePad

Mac: Audacity

I haven’t used either of these, but they are both free and Audacity works with both Windows and Macintosh.

Brian Reindel had this to say about Audacity:

I’ve used Audacity on several occasions to accomplish simple tasks. If you’re looking for a way to edit loops for Flash, record a voiceover for a QuickTime movie or remove a sound bite altogether, then this is the tool. It’s not overly robust, but there is no reason to spend a fortune on professional audio editing software when the only thing the client wants is a little whiz-bang. You can export to the most popular file formats, including high-quality WAV and MP3. After installing a few compatible freeware decoders (listed on the Audacity Web site), you can import WAV, AIFF, AU, Ogg Vorbis, MP2 and MP3 files.

[Web] Browsers

Win: Firefox

Mac: Firefox

Because it’s the best. Like the Cola Wars, everyone is going to have their personal preference. Yes, some browsers do minute tasks better than others, but if I can give myself the same effortless experience on multiple platforms of computers, why wouldn’t I rate this as the best? Between the stability and ease of use, not to mention the extensions, themes and plugins, Firefox has proven itself worthy enough to deserve my support. Firefox, you had me at Bookmark Synchronization.

Calendaring

Win: Calendar/Sunbird

Mac: iCal

Level the playing field. I used to use Outlook for managing my appointments and such. Even before I got a Mac, I wanted iCal. In fact, it’s apps like this that led up to me getting a Mac. Since more and more calendars are supporting the .ics format, it only makes sense to utilize cross platform compatibility. When you throw PHPiCalendar info the mix, you can have yourself instant web calendar that’s easily updatable from any machine. I get get iCal to import my calendars easy enough, but have yet to have it play nice with the syncing process. I would have to use only iCal by itself as to not disturb and always overwrite the entries I made on other calendars/computers. Working on finding a solution to this. I did find a solution to get iCal to display something more useful, like today’s date, other than the now famous date of July 17th (the day Apple introduced iCal @ the 2002 MacWorld Expo).

CD/DVD Burning Software

Win: CDBurnerXP Pro 3

I haven’t found perfect burning software for either the PC or Mac. Each of the operating systems can handle basic burning of CD’s but that’s just it, they’re basic. CDBurnerXP Pro comes recommended for the PC, but I haven’t used it yet. For burning audio CD’s, I can suggest iTunes for both Mac & Win. It just works.

Content Management System

Win: WordPress & Joomla/Mambo

Mac: WordPress & Joomla/Mambo

Yes, they’re worth mentioning that many times and I can recommend wholeheartedly. I’ve used both extensively and there’s nothing easier to use when trying to control your own websites. Let me put it this way, my dad can manage his own website. If you are interested in learning more, please contact me at campfiresites.com.

Database

Win: MySQL

Mac: MySQL

Brian Reindel, again, had this to say about MySQL:

There are several reasons MySQL is the freeware database of choice for designers. Most notably, it’s the only one. Sanity is another good reason. Acquiring a developer’s license for Microsoft’s SQL is expensive, and the learning curve is steep. MySQL is relatively easy to install and configure on your local machine, and almost all basic hosting plans include the latest stable release.

File Extraction

Win: 7Zip

Mac: StuffIt & YemuZip

7Zip’s drag-and-drop interface supports ZIP, CAB, RAR, ARJ, GZIP, BZIP2, Z, TAR, CPIO, RPM and DEB formats, and the compression ratio is impressive. WinZip is great, but it’s not freeware. On the Mac side, StuffIt Expander supports expanding a couple of dozen formats, but to compress your files, give YemuZip a try.

File Synchronization

Win: Allway Sync & WinMerge

Mac: coming soon

Coming soon.

FTP

Win: Leech FTP 1.3

Mac: Cyberduck

Since WS_FTP & CuteFTP aren’t free anymore, good, cheap alternatives are Leech FTP 1.3 and CoreFTP. Keep in mind, though, Leech FTP is pretty outdated and no longer supported. I haven’t fully explored the features of Cyberduck for Mac OS X, but when I need to edit a file on my photoblog, it did the job with ease.

HTML Editor

Win: 1st Page 2000

Mac: Nvu

Dreamweaver is hands down my HTML of choice. Period. Other programs, like TopStyle (Lite or Pro) & Style Master (for XP & OS X), handle CSS much better, but Dreamweaver is a quarterback. Dreamweaver also costs a couple hundred dollars. For the free alternative, try 1st Page 2000 and Nvu, which comes recommended by Todd Dominey. Whenever you do, people, DO NOT use Microsoft’s Frontpage to make websites… or anything else for that matter.

HTTP Server

Win: Apache

Mac: Apache (hey, it’s built into OS X!)

Brian Reindel, again, had this to say about Apache:

Apache’s HTTP Server comes in handy if you want to run PHP on your local machine but don’t have PWS or IIS installed (most of us don’t). It also eliminates the need for a dual boot, unlike an alternative Linux/Windows setup, so installation is a snap. Even better, Apache installs as a Windows service, so starting up and shutting down happens in the background. Unfortunately, Apache doesn’t supply an integrated SMTP server. In order to send mail, you will need to configure PHP to recognize your ISP’s outgoing mail server, or you can download 1st SMTP Server for free. Apache also supports cron jobs, which allow you to run scripts at timed intervals by day, month and year.

Messaging

Win: Gaim

Mac: Adiumx

The problem: you can’t get all your friends and contacts to use the same Instant Messaging software. The [free] solution? Trillian. Oops. You said free, right? Gaim for Windows, Adiumx for OS X. You can sign up for multiple accounts, including Yahoo! IM, AIM, MSN, Jabber, ICQ and more. Trillian is the one I prefer, but I bought it (gasp!) and I can only use it on my PC.

PDF Creation

Win: PDF995

If you can’t afford Adobe Acrobat, Software995 has a solution for you. Their PDF995 displays an advertisement each time you print to PDF, but it’s not spyware and they don’t add their name all over your document like some other free PDF creators do.

Photo Editing/Storage/Printing

Win: Picasa 2

Mac: iPhoto

iPhoto is freeware? Well, not really, but it came with my Mac. Rather than tell you about the great features each of these programs have, I’ll let others do that for me. For a fair comparison of the two programs, visit At Home with John and Debbie or the Mac guru, David Pogue, who wrote about them in the NY Times (get a login from bugmenot.com). Why compare them? Well, in my case, since I’m wanting to migrate my Dell life to my iMac, is was very important for me to fully understand what I would be gaining or losing by switching from the PC based Picasa to the Mac’s iPhoto.

Office Suite

Win: OpenOffice.org

Mac: NeoOffice

OpenOffice.org is not Microsoft Office by any means, but you can read and write Microsoft Office files and v1.1 includes a one-click export to PDF without the need for a third-party add-on. When opting to use OpenOffice for OS X, there are at least two versions to choose from. The more stable & supported version wasn’t the easiest to install, primarily because it requires Apple’s X11 to be installed first. If all you need is a word processor, check out AbiWord. AbiWord is able to read and write all industry standard document types, such as OpenOffice.org documents, Microsoft Word documents, WordPerfect documents, Rich Text Format documents, HTML web pages and many more. After having attemping and finally installing OpenOffice for Mac, I would recommend NeoOffice. OpenOffice requires Apple’s X11, which is also found on the [Tiger] installationation CD (at the time I needed it, I could not find that download link). Despite that, OpenOffice will be easier to upgrade to version 2.0 than NeoOffice and it is supposedly more stable. If you do decide to use either OpenOffice or NeoOffice, you might want to add this Spotlight plugin, NeoLight, to help search through files created in either program.

Screen Capture

Win: ScreenRip32

Mac: Backdrop

Screen capturing should be easy. All it needs to do is capture what you see on the screen, right?

Scripting Language

Win: PHP

Mac: PHP

Brian Reindel, again, had this to say about PHP:

What could I possibly say about PHP that you don’t already know? Probably not much, which is a good thing for a designer trying to learn a new scripting language—there is plenty of support and tutorials available for free on the Web. Just like MySQL, PHP is available with most basic hosting plans, which is a major advantage over proprietary languages like CFML, VBScript or Java. If you’re new to programming, and you need to add increased interactivity to your Web sites, I strongly suggest you start with PHP. A little advice: First learn about common security issues and PHP error handling, then move on to database manipulation and XML parsing. You will find that if you can master those four areas, PHP will serve you well.

Video Editing

Win: Windows Movie Maker

Brian Reindel, again, had this to say about Video Editing:

I hesitate to recommend any video editing software that is freeware. If you find you need to edit video for the Web on a regular basis, subcontract a professional or purchase an amateur video-editing suite. However, when the occasional need arises to snip a clip, delete some sound or add simple text effects, Windows Movie Maker will suit you well. The primary disadvantage is it only works with Windows XP (as does my choice for runner-up, Avid Free DV, which can be found at Avid.com). If you’re interested in taking a crack at video editing, then this is a good tool to get you started on learning the basics.

VoIP

Win: Skype

Brian Reindel, again, had this to say about Voice over IP:

Skype, just like Gaim, has gained widespread acceptance in the public eye. It deserves every bit of praise it has received this past year, and I’m amazed that such an impressive and useful tool is free. A friend and freelance Flash designer turned me on to Skype because he was sick of paying out the wazoo for client conference calls. Both you and your client will need Skype installed in order to use voice-over-IP, but it’s worth recommending even if your client isn’t tech-savvy. If they won’t bother, you can opt for SkypeOut, a paid service with rates that will blow away your long distance phone service or even a competitor like Vonage.

For your own findings:

Freeware can come and go. The shelf life of software in the age of the internet isn’t very long. To help stay on top of what’s hot and what’s not, visit these sites:

If you have argument for or against anything I’ve mentioned in this article, I’d love to hear from you… especially as I venture away from the PC to the Mac.