NOTE:
The condition of the software page is one of our more embarrassing
problems. We don't have anyone maintaining it and we know many of
the links/products are outdated. Use as you see fit...but don't
expect much. ;-) Here's a good starting point for locating
software: http://www.versiontracker.com/
Utilities
TapGuard
Recommended by Leonard Commet Krill. From the docs:
"The ability to tap on the trackpad of your PowerBook is great, but one problem I found myself running into was accidentally hitting the trackpad with my thumbs as I typed. The insertion point would move to some unfortunate area in the window, and I would proceed to type a word and a half or so before noticing what happened. TapGuard fixes that problem."
"It's true. I even bought my beloved blue Yu-Plan keyboard
partly because I thought I had a damaged keyboard -- I'd be typing
along, and al of a sudden the cursor would be somewhere else in
the text and I'd be typing there. Even installed a key-capture
program for a while to see what bizarre key-stroke combination I
was accidently hitting that caused my insertion point to jump to
somewhere else. No luck. This thing, for me, is a must-have."
(Leonard/6 Nov 99)
PlainTalk,
Apple Computer, free
Allows your computer to read text to you, and lets you talk to
the computer!
SoundApp,
free
While MacAMP may be the better looking MP3 player, SoundApp is by
far more stable - never crashing on my machine. As a bonus it also
supports and converts more standards than MacAMP. Playlists and
shuffling are supported.
MacAMP,
free
The newest incarnation of MacAmp, the MPEG3 player, has
finally been released as a public beta. Take a look at the skins
too, they're a welcome way to change the look of the player. Some
of the cooler features include the ability to minimize the player
and still be able to use it, and it also supports AppleScript
commands for play, stop, etc.
MPEG
Audio Creator
A new version of the MPEG Creator which allows you to encode
tracks from CDs or real-time sound input. Creates MPEG Layer 2
files, which you can then play back with MacAMP (above)
Power
Windows 2, Gregorgy D. Landweber, $10
Shareware
Lets you drag entire windows instead of just the border, excellent
package!
The
Tilery, Rick Holzgrafe, Semicolon
Software, free
(Formerly known as Applicon) Tilery is an excellent process
manager which lets you create tiles on your desktop showing the
running applications. I've been using it since 1993. It's usually
the first package I put on a new Mac.
Password
Security, Apple Computer,
free
If you're like most 2400 owners, you have OS 8.0 loaded on your
machine, but no password security control panel. Password security
is now available with OS 8.1, but you have to download it from
Apple at the above link.
Graphics
Update, Apple Computer, free
Allows you to use the VGA out options much more effectively,
controlling output resolution & syncing. It might help with
hooking up to LCD overhead displays that can't use 800x600
resolution, for example.
Audio
Tuneup, Apple Computer, free
Improves the quality of input and ouput sound on your 2400.
SerialDMA Apple Computer, free
Apple released a new version of SerialDMA that is supposed to fix bugs between certain computers (including the 2400) not loading serial devices such as digital cameras.
Jeremy's
Control Strip Modules, Jeremy Kezer,
$10 Shareware
A collection of Control Strip Modules, including a Temperature
CSM, Battery CSM, Application CSM, Clock Speed CSM, EnergyStrip
CSM, and more!
PowerBook
Active Matrix, Syzygy Cult
A neat little utility to check the number of bad pixels on your
active matrix screen. [Contributor: this was probably the most
anxious moment in my first hour of ownership]
PhotoShop
Tryout 4, Adobe, Demo
Nice program for manipulating photographic images. This is the
tryout version. It's also includes the Gamma Control Panel
:) Mind you this is a hefty download (17 MB).
Cosmo
Player, SGI, Free
VRML (Virtual Reality Modelling Language) 97 finally makes it to
the Macintosh. The Cosmo Player has been released a
developement/beta version as a plug-in for Netscape or
Communicator (Explorer is not supported). It allows you to walk
through virtual worlds on the internet. Though VRML is still in
it's infancy, this definitely shows what's coming. Make sure to
read the installation instructions and give enough RAM to
Netscape.
Sound
Shuffler
Sounds good! Plays a random sound whenever you make an error. You
can add your own sounds. Comes with some dry humor :)
Strata Vision
3D, Strata, $10
(Within US), $20 (Canada)
A 3D modelling package for Macs. Similar to Ray Dream Studio.
Original retail price was $299 US. Strata is promoting the package
for $10 US including shipping and delivery.
Tab
Windows, Erik
Wrenholt, $5
On PowerBook 2400s, screen space is as pricey as real estate in
southern California. This package reduces the size and width of
window tabs so that you can organize and work with more windows at
a time. It's worth the download!
EarSaver,
Synthetic Productions, $29.95
The lack of a CD player on PowerBook 2400s makes it difficult to
listen to music while you work. One alternative is EarSaver
which provides a soundscape background so you don't dry up of
boredom. The package takes 2 MB of RAM and features some
excellent compositions.
GoMac,
$19.95
"Although I don't like Windows 95 (that's probably why I
switched to the Mac in the first place), the one feature I can
live with is the program bar at the bottom that offers easy access
to programs. offers the same in their $19.95 shareware." -
Brett
Imagine
Radio, Free
If you haven't heard of this yet, you're in for a pleasant
surprise. IRTuner delivers high quality radio stations including
news, alternative rock, 80's music, jazz, British hits and much
more over the internet (based on RealAudio 5.0). The quality is
excellent for internet delivery, and the interface is superb. It
even shows you the name and artist of the song currently playing,
plus stories and quotes from the artists, and hyperlinks to the
web! Live news from the Associated Press, and an excellent talk
show round-off this remarkable new technology. Download it free!
(The only downside is the required 9 MB of RAM to run, and a
fairly fast internet connection.)
Peek-A-Boo
by Bob Clark
An excellent tool that I've been looking for on the Macintosh for
a long time. Those of you familiar with Unix have likely used
Process managers that indicate the amount of CPU time a process is
occupying. Peek-A-Boo provides you with plenty of techie
information and even shows you a memory map of where your
applications are. You can even use it to quit processes such as
the finder to free up even more memory! This is an indispensable
tool for those who are micro-managers...
Fonts
Manager 3.8 by Ed Hopkins
Appears like an excellent way to manage sets of fonts on your
Macintosh. After installing Microsoft Office 98, my fonts folder
tripled in size, and finding a particular font has now become
annoying. I'm planning on using Fonts Manager to sort out the
resulting mess...
PandoStickers
Kind of a neat application I've been playing with. It lets you
take a Pict and turn the white parts of it to transparent, and
then place it on your desktop. I use it to put my name, address,
and company logo on screen.
GhostScript
for Macintosh, Free
A PostScript viewer like those on Unix and Windows. It works well
and fairly fast!
MyVidCap
and MyVidEditor
Great little applications for video capture and editting, with
some really nice features (including capture to memory, then save
to hard drive!)
Mac2400
Plug!!
Now it's time for a shameless Mac 2400 plug. Terrence put
together instructions on hacking your About this
Macintosh... to change the displayed images. Remember
to back up your Finder before modifying
it. Take a look if you're curious.
Shareware
Games worth the Download