I have been using my iMac G5 for about two months now. And while everything isn’t perfect yet, I have got to say that things are pretty darn good.
To kick off this new blog, I thought I would share the software that I have been using so far.
1. Wordpress. This is a great– and free– software package that can be modified for virtually any web site. It is based on PHP and MYSQL. And Google seems to like it. I have played with several different software packages for this, and I come back to Wordpress every time.
2. Ecto. A great software package that allows you to write to multiple weblogs with a desktop application. I use it on my Mac, of course, but they also happen to make a PC version. Ecto can accommodate iTunes and Amazon. It checks checks your spelling, and even can tell you the word count. I have not mastered it yet, but I definitely like it. My trial runs out in a week, and I think it is well worth the $18 they are charging for a single user license.
3. Mozilla Firefox. Right now I am running a build of Firefox that has been optimized for my iMac’s G5 processor. Thanks to BeatnikPad for that!
4. The Firefox Edit CSS Extension. I used it on the PC. And I love it on my Mac.
5. A FTP client. I use Cyberduck. This one is free, easy to use, and lets you drag and drop files from Finder to your web server.
6. The Stats for Adsense Widget. This widget is handy and keeps me from having to dedicate a FireFox tab to checking my stats. Best of all, it is free.
7. The Feedburner Stats Widget. It can show you download stats on all of your Feedburner feeds.
8. Unfortunately, I have not found the best tool for log analysis yet. I have played with TrendyMac but did not love it. I have tried Analog but could not get it working right. I’d love to use Awstats since it is free and all, but, I just can’t get it running. So right now I am using SiteMeter and trying out a program called Summary. Summary is intense– it provides hundreds of different reports. It almost seems like overkill so far, and I need to spend a little more time customizing it before I will be convinced.
So what software do you use to blog on your Mac?
10 responses so far ↓
Scott // Aug 31, 2005 at 1:41 pm
You should check out Transmit for the Mac. It is a great FTP program.
http://www.panic.com/transmit/
Scott
Administrator // Aug 31, 2005 at 2:29 pm
I will check it out! Thanks for the tip!
31 Days to Building a Better Blog - Day 31!: Blog Tips - ProBlogger // Aug 31, 2005 at 7:21 pm
[…] Alexander submitted Context is Everything and Blogging on a Mac […]
Arne // Sep 1, 2005 at 7:34 am
Instead of Firefox i use Camino as my favourite Webbrowser on the Mac. Camino is also developed by the Mozilla Foundation.
I prefer Cyberduck over Transmit, because it’s free.
For Website-Statistics i use Webalizer, produces pretty useable results for me.
One Stop Under // Sep 1, 2005 at 8:20 am
While they’re not blog-specific, two programs I use all the time are QuickSilver and TypeIt4Me.
Quicksilver is great for launching apps, firing off an email, finding an Address Book contact, opening a file, etc with just one or two keystrokes. It’s a massive productivity booster.
TypeIt4Me just turns key abbreviations into larger chunks of text you’ve configured. For example, I just have to type ‘myaddr’ into an email to have my full mailing address inserted. Or I can type ‘mybank’ to insert my banking details into the eBay form or an email.
Neil // Sep 29, 2005 at 4:51 pm
You might want to check out my list of preferred applications here:
http://www.beatnikpad.com/archives/2004/04/25/mac_os_x_software_inventory
And I’m glad you like the G5-optimized Firefox build!
Wayne // Oct 3, 2005 at 10:30 pm
I run a WordPress blog or two and out of necessity coded up a WP plugin for easier management of AdSense within my blogs. The plugin is called AdSense-Deluxe (http://www.acmetech.com/blog/adsense-deluxe/) and allows you to define unlimited different AdSense ad unit styles then reference those ad blocks by name within posts and template files. It comes with QuickTag support (QT doesn’t work well in Safari, but FireFox supports it) and you can globally change ads in all posts, and enable/disable ad display for Post, Index, Archive pages, etc.
While this may seem like blatant self-promotion, I do actually think it’s a damn useful plugin if you’re running AdSense in WordPress.
In addition to that plugin, I also like Jerome’s Keywords plugin (for specifying meta-keywords in your pages) and the Tiger-Style Admin which restyles your WP Admin in a Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger) theme (http://www.orderedlist.com/articles/wordpress-administration-design-tiger/)
-wayne
Ariston Collander // Nov 23, 2005 at 4:47 pm
As a die hard Mac user, I do all of my blogging on my iBook. i use Safari as my primary web browser, ecto to post blogs to Wordpress, Fetch for FTP, and Photoshop CS2 for image manipulation.
I also use Quicksilver and could not live with out. Vienna is my preferred RSS reader. I really couldn’t see even trying to make blog entries on a PC knowing how efficient I’ve become on my Mac.
paige // Jan 8, 2006 at 3:42 am
What/Who is a good host for WordPress if you go with someone other than WP?
Deborah // Oct 3, 2006 at 7:29 pm
I use the Powermac G5. I just started into the blogging world and was using my laptop (Dell) wishing I could find the tools to use with the mac. With the discovery of ecto, which I love also but still trying to master, with 8 days left for free I think its worth the 17 bucks to. I use Safari browser, and all my blogs are through Wordpress. I own my own servers so I have mounds of space!
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