Here are links to some critical Macintosh shareware and
freeware. We try to keep copies local so they transfer faster,
and we try to keep versions up to date. If you notice something
out of date or have suggestions of additions to the list, please
let us know.
Web browsers we recommend:
Internet Explorer 5
Internet Explorer has become the de facto standard.
Netscape 4.78
With sadness, we can no longer recommend Netscape as the web browser of choice. This 4.78 version is excellent, however, and includes a very good integrated e-mail program.
iCabStuffit Expander is a drag-and-drop application that extracts files from Stuffit archives. Many programs, such as Anarchie and Netscape, can use Stuffit Expander to automatically extract files from archives you might download, like all of the programs on this page.
Still free, iCab is the fastest browser available for the Mac -- in part because you can block almost all annoying ads. The drawback is that it's "in development," and doesn't include support for Javascript, which means that you'll occasionally have to fall back to IE or Netscape. Still, we give it the highest endorsement -- give it a try. Versions are also available for 68K Macs and OS X.
Anarchie supports drag and drop file transfer, bookmarks, searches via Archie. Some people prefer Fetch, which has an interface similar to the Standard File dialogs, but also supports drag-and-drop.
Eudora is the premiere Internet mail client for the Macintosh, and 3.11 is a reliable freeware version. See our e-mail FAQ for documentation and help using Eudora.
Many libraries and government agencies only make information available through an older computer protocol called "telnet." Almost all Mac users use NCSA Telnet.
For reading USENET news, MT Newswatcher is recommended.
If you're using System 7.5.3 or later, you should be using Open Transport. (See our Frequently Asked Questions for more details.) But if your system is older or has limited memory, you'll have to use MacTCP and some sort of PPP extension. MacPPP enables a Macintosh with MacTCP to connect to the Internet with a modem. This is version 2.2.0a.