the macOS apps we once had and now miss

Software has always been very important to Apple. Macs, beyond the operating system that already included a large number of options and features, have always come with several built-in applications. Apps like the iWork suite or the Aperture photo editing application. Apps, for the most part, that either disappeared or evolved into virtually unrecognizable.

Let’s go back a few years and talk about the apps that made their way to the Mac and what they did. Do we miss them? It will depend on the use that each of us makes of the Mac, but in many cases yes, and a lot. Applications that we will remember either with a certain nostalgia or that we now discover for the first time if we are new to the platform. Applications, yes, that give a lot to say.

Clearly explain what a Mac was capable of right out of the box

Many of us may have seen that “I’m a PC and I’m a Mac” commercial in which the Mac claimed it had just printed a photo album. He bragged on the PC that every Mac came with the iLife suite, which included iPhone, iMovie and GarageBand. Whereas the PC replied that in its case it included the Calculator or Clock applicationthe truth is that we must recognize the quality of the three applications of the Apple suite.

More if we put ourselves in the context of the time. iPhoto was a great photo manager and this enabled us, among other things, to order printed copies of them, very common in the epic. Yes, we still had to sync our iPhone manually via cable or import photos from early digital cameras, but that was a luxury.

The same goes for iMovie, for many the first contact with a video editing application. Sure, the options were limited, but they also opened up a whole new world for us. How many home movies open edited in iMovie? The result, if we didn’t overdo the transitions, was professional enough and of more than enough quality to keep the family in front of a small video project for a considerable amount of time.

Within iLife we ​​must also mention GarageBand, an application that, like iMovie, is still present today. Updated, of course, and a lot, but the same app in essence. One where we could record different audio or instrumental tracks to create our melodies.

The iLife suite was accompanied by iWork, which, although it no longer uses that name now, is still present today along with Pages, Numbers and Keynote. The three office applications from Apple. Very different, but that was the story of Aperture, which despite the evolution the Photos app has undergone, still has a legion of nostalgics behind who still install it on Apple’s silicon. A more advanced photo editing application than iPhoto which, however, is already a thing of the past.

The same goes for iWeb, the website builder application. At a time when the spelling of the three Ws was still common, being able to create a site was almost science fiction. Optimization of the resulting sites? What is that? But yes, you saw your little creations on the internet, they could be housed in the nascent Mobile Me, and it filled you with satisfaction.

iBooks Author is another recent demise, a application to create books in ePUB format which allowed us to download them directly from the iTunes Store. Following the renaming to Apple Books, Apple also discontinued the app and replaced it with Pages. Much easier to use, no doubt, and with the same options, if not more.

Ultimately, special mention to Front Rowan entertainment application which, using the Mac remote control – yes, Macs come with a remote control and with its infrared port on the front – allowed us to watch movies, music, series, listen to podcasts and enjoy photo slideshows.

And the list would go on, with DVD Player, QuickTime or Cards, for example. In any case, what is clear, as we started by saying, is that software has been and continues to be very important to Apple. Offering very high quality applications although they are free and clearly indicating what a Mac was capable of right out of the box.

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