It's February, and that means it's time to start voting for the Reader's Choice Awards 2010. We made it through the nomination process last month, and now with the top nominees from each category determined, it's time to let us know which ones deserve to be this year's winners of About.com's Computing Channel Reader's Choice Awards.
Voting starts February 1 and runs till February 25. Winners will be announced in March.
There are 8 categories to vote for in Mac software. We have assigned each category to its own page, allowing you to start here, and click though the pages to cast your vote.
If you feel like jumping around, or only voting for a few categories, that’s OK, too. You can use the Category jump list to get right to the software you want to vote for.
So, tell all your friends and get out the vote!
About: Macs Reader's Choice Awards 2010 Jump List:
Best Mac System Utility
Best Mac Backup Application
Best Application for Running Windows
Best Mac Consumer Image Editor
Best Mac Word Processor
Best Mac Office Suite
Best Mac Browser
Best Mac Email Client
Reader's Choice Awards 2010: Mac System Utilities
The Best Mac System Utility category is for software designed primarily to enhance the capabilities of the OS. We selected the top five nominees in this category and now it's up to you to make the final decision.
Which Mac System Utility deserves to be this years Reader's Choice Winner? Our Reader's Choice Poll will open for voting on February 1, and closes on February 25. Winners will be announced in March.
Poll: Which Mac System Utility should be the Reader's Choice Winner?
Polling Has Closed
- Default Folder X 4.3
- MouseWizard 6
- 1Password 3
- DaisyDisk 1.3
- MainMenu 2
View Results
Click the appropriate link above to vote for your favorite Mac System Utility.
Default Folder X gives you quick access to folders you use often from within any Open or Save dialog box. You can assign a default folder for each application, so your work is always saved in the same place. You can also use a list of your favorite locations, recently used locations, or all currently open Finder windows, on the assumption that one of them is likely to be where the document you are currently working on is stored.
Default Folder X web site.
MouseWizard adds the ability to customize your Magic Mouse. With MouseWizard, you can add two more mouse buttons; a two-finger scroll gesture you can use for activating applications, such as Expose or Spaces; a true pinch gesture for zooming in or out; and a three-finger mouse click. MouseWizard also offers an interesting addition: covering the Magic Mouse surface with your hand puts your Mac to sleep.
MouseWizard web site
1Password is a password manager and strong password generator for the Mac. 1Password can operate in two distinct methods: as a stand-alone application or as a password manager that's integrated with your browser. You can also use it in both forms at the same time.
1Password web site
DaisyDisk is a simple idea at heart: an application that shows how your hard drive's space is being used. DaisyDisk scans your hard drive and displays the results on a color-coded sunburst map that resembles a daisy, with the hard drive as the center. DaisyDisk displays both the hierarchical structure of files and folder and the relative size of each.
DaisyDisk web site
MainMenu installs a menu item in the menu bar that gives you swift access to many of your Mac's hidden capabilities, such as running maintenance scripts, rebuilding the Spotlight index, and clearing out user and system caches, as well as your browser's cache.
MainMenu web site
Vote for Your Other Favorites:
Best Mac Backup Application
Best Application for Running Windows
Best Mac Consumer Image Editor
Best Mac Word Processor
Best Mac Office Suite
Best Mac Browser
Best Mac Email Client
Reader's Choice Awards 2010: Mac Backup Software
The Best Mac Backup Software category is for software designed, at a minimum, to perform a backup of a user's data. Applications in this category may also provide other services, such as backing up the entire system, creating archives, and creating clones. We selected the top four nominees in this category and now it's up to you to make the final decision.
Which Mac Backup Software deserves to be this year's Reader's Choice Winner?
Our Reader's Choice Poll will open for voting on February 1, and closes on February 25. Winners will be announced in March.
Poll: Which Mac Backup Software should be the Reader's Choice Winner?
Polling Has Closed
- SuperDuper 2.6
- Time Machine 1.1
- Carbon Copy Cloner 3.3
- SilverKeeper 2.0
View Results
Click the appropriate link above to vote for your favorite Mac Backup Software.
SuperDuper from Shirt Pocket Software takes what for many is a difficult problem (making a bootable backup of a startup drive), and turns it into a simple, repeatable process that encourages you to keep your data backed up.
SuperDuper web site
Time Machine, the backup software included with the Mac OS since OS X 10.5, lets you easily create and maintain current backups of all your important data. It also makes recovering lost files a simple, and dare I say fun, process.
Time Machine web site
Carbon Copy Cloner from Bombich Software has come a long way from its original incarnation. What was once just a tool for Mac geeks to clone startup drives is now a top-notch cloning and backup utility for Mac users of all experience levels.
Carbon Copy Cloner web site
SilverKeeper is freely available backup software developed by LaCie for use with its line of external hard drives. You can use SilverKeeper with any storage device that can be mounted locally on your Mac. SilverKeeper performs automatic backups via a schedule you create.
SilverKeeper's web site
Vote for Your Other Favorites:
Best Mac System Utility
Best Application for Running Windows
Best Mac Consumer Image Editor
Best Mac Word Processor
Best Mac Office Suite
Best Mac Browser
Best Mac Email Client
Reader's Choice Awards 2010: Best Application for Running Windows
The Best Application for Running Windows category is open to any application or system that allows you to run Windows or Windows applications on a Mac. We selected the top four nominees in this category and now it's up to you to make the final decision.
Which Mac Application for Running Windows deserves to be this year's Reader's Choice Winner? Our Reader's Choice Poll will open for voting on February 1, and closes on February 25.
Winners will be announced in March.
Poll: Which Mac Application for Running Windows should be the Reader's Choice Winner?
Polling Has Closed
- Parallels 5
- VMware Fusion 3
- Sun VirtualBox 3.1
- Boot Camp 3
View Results
Click the appropriate link above to vote for your favorite Application for Running Windows.
Parallels 5 allows Intel Mac users to run both OS X and Windows (or Linux) at the same time. Optimized for Windows 7 and supporting its Aero-based user interface, Parallels lets you seamlessly run Windows and the Mac OS side-by-side.
Parallels web site
VMware Fusion 3 is one of the leading virtualization environments for the Mac. Its ease of use and the simplicity it offers in creating virtual machines are a big plus. Fusion 3 has also been optimized to run Windows 7. You can make your Mac a Windows powerhouse and astonish your Windows-using friends.
VMware Fusion 3 web site
Sun's VirtualBox 3.1.2 for the Mac has a feature set that keeps pace with commercial applications. It supports 64 bit-operating systems, and virtualizing the Mac's hardware, so you can access most of the devices connected to your Mac.
Sun's VirtualBox web site
Boot Camp from Apple allows you to partition a hard drive and run Windows natively on your Mac. In order to access your Windows partition, you must boot into Windows, preventing you from using OS X and Windows at the same time.
Boot Camp web site
Vote for Your Other Favorites:
Best Mac System Utility
Best Mac Backup Application
Best Mac Consumer Image Editor
Best Mac Word Processor
Best Mac Office Suite
Best Mac Browser
Best Mac Email Client
Reader's Choice Awards 2010: Best Mac Consumer Image Editor
The Best Mac Consumer Image Editor category is open to any software that is used for editing static images and is geared towards general consumers, not professionals. This doesn't mean the application can't have professional-level features, only that its target audience must be amateurs and hobbyists.
We selected the top five nominees in this category and now it's up to you to make the final decision.
Which Mac Consumer Image Editor deserves to be this years Reader's Choice Winner? Our Reader's Choice Poll will open for voting on February 1, and closes on February 25. Winners will be announced in March.
Poll: Which Mac Consumer Image Editor should be the Reader's Choice Winner?
Polling Has Closed
- Photoshop Elements 8
- Pixelmator 1.5
- PhotoMagic 1.2
- iPhoto 8.1
- GraphicConverter 6.6
View Results
Click the appropriate link above to vote for your favorite Mac Consumer Image Editor.
Photoshop Elements 8 finally brings the Mac and Windows versions close to having the same functionality.
Photoshop Elements 8 web site
Pixelmator from Pixelmator Team Ltd. was one of the first Core Image-aware applications I ran across, back in 2007. Core Image provides pixel-accurate, real-time, non-destructive image editing, and Pixelmator made use of the then-new technology in an amazing editing application.
Pixelmator web site
PhotoMagic is a suite of image manipulation tools designed for photographers as well as casual users.
It provides special effects, painting tools, image size manipulation, and the ability to enhance, repair, and improve images.
PhotoMagic web site
iPhoto from Apple is included with new Macs, and is part of the iLife suite. iPhoto provides image library management features as well as the ability to edit and share your photos.
iPhoto web site
Graphic Converter is the Swiss army knife of image editing and file conversion. It provides a wide range of features and capabilities, including batch processing.
GraphicConverter web site
Vote for Your Other Favorites:
Best Mac System Utility
Best Mac Backup Application
Best Application for Running Windows
Best Mac Word Processor
Best Mac Office Suite
Best Mac Browser
Best Mac Email Client
Reader's Choice Awards 2010 - Best Mac Word Processor
The Best Mac Word Processor category is open to any application that provides word processing capabilities.
We selected the top five nominees in this category and now it's up to you to make the final decision.
Which Mac Word Processor deserves to be this year's Reader's Choice Winner? Our Reader's Choice Poll will open for voting on February 1, and closes on February 25. Winners will be announced in March.
Poll:Which Mac Word Processor should be the Reader's Choice Winner?
Polling Has Closed
- Pages '09
- Word 2008
- Mariner Write 3.9
- Nisus Writer Pro 1.4
- Bean 2.4
View Results
Click the appropriate link above to vote for your favorite Mac Word Processor.
Pages, part of Apple's iWork suite of applications, provides both an easy-to-use word processor and page layout tools.
Pages web site
Microsoft Word, part of Office 2008 for Mac, is one of the most popular word processors for both the Mac and Windows PCs.
Microsoft Word for Mac web site
Mariner Write is a streamlined word processor that provides all the tools any writer could want, including headers, footers, endnotes, footnotes, and more. It also has an elegant interface to help keep you productive as you write.
Mariner Write web site
Nisus Writer Pro is a word processor with a clean, smooth interface that lets you concentrate on writing. The interface is a cinch to customize, and creating and editing style sheets is just as easy.
Nisus Writer Pro web site
Bean is a basic word processor, but the developer gave it the time and concentration necessary to make the core features work with aplomb.
Everything works just the way you think it should. This lightweight application doesn't require much in the way of system resources, and it has a clean interface that is easy to navigate.
Bean web site
Vote for Your Other Favorites:
Best Mac System Utility
Best Mac Backup Application
Best Application for Running Windows
Best Mac Consumer Image Editor
Best Mac Office Suite
Best Mac Browser
Best Mac Email Client
Reader's Choice Awards 2010: Best Mac Office Suite
The Best Mac Office Suite category is open to any software package that, at a minimum, provides word processing and spreadsheet capabilities. The suite may also include additional office applications.
We selected the top four nominees in this category and now it's up to you to make the final decision.
Which Mac Office Suite deserves to be this year's Reader's Choice Winner? Our Reader's Choice Poll will open for voting on February 1, and closes on February 25.
Winners will be announced in March.
Poll: Which Mac Office Suite should be the Reader's Choice Winner?
Polling Has Closed
- iWork '09
- OpenOffice.org 3.11
- Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac
- NeoOffice 3.0
View Results
Click the appropriate link above to vote for your favorite Mac Office Suite.
iWork '09 from Apple provides the three key components of an office suite. Pages is a word processor and page layout application. Numbers is an easy-to-use spreadsheet application. Keynote is the same presentation application Steve Jobs uses for his keynote addresses.
iWork '09 web site
OpenOffice.org is a free office suite that provides all of the core tools a business or home office user needs to be productive in a day-to-day work environment. OpenOffice.org includes five core applications: Writer, for creating text documents; Calc, for spreadsheets; Impress, for presentations; Draw, for creating graphics; and Base, a database application.
OpenOffice.org web site
Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac provides four core business applications to keep you productive with your Mac: Word (word processing), Excel (spreadsheet), PowerPoint (presentation), and Entourage (email and contact management).
In addition, Office 2008 for Mac supports Microsoft's Exchange Server.
Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac web site
NeoOffice is based on OpenOffice.org open source code, and provides the same base capabilities: word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, and database. NeoOffice has a native OS X interface that helps make it feel more Mac-like.
NeoOffice web site
Vote for Your Other Favorites:
Best Mac System Utility
Best Mac Backup Application
Best Application for Running Windows
Best Mac Consumer Image Editor
Best Mac Word Processor
Best Mac Browser
Best Mac Email Client
Voting has closed and the 2010 Reader’s Choice Award for the Best Mac Browser category has been presented. Be sure to check out the winner and the also-rans at:
Reader's Choice Winner in the Web Browser Category
Browser Shootout 2010: Which Mac Browser Is the Best?
The original page content follows:
The Best Mac Browser category is open to nominations for applications that provide general-purpose web browsing capabilities.
Browsers in this category should be able to access any web site, provide bookmark services, support plug-ins, and run basic web applications without issues.
We selected the top five nominees in this category and now it's up to you to make the final decision.
Which Mac Browser deserves to be this year's Reader's Choice Winner? Our Reader's Choice Poll will open for voting on February 1, and closes on February 25. Winners will be announced in March.
Poll: Which Mac Browser should be the Reader's Choice Winner?
Polling Has Closed
- Safari 4
- Firefox 3.6
- Stainless 0.75
- Camino 2.0
- OmniWeb 5.10
View Results
Click the appropriate link above to vote for your favorite Mac Browser.
Safari is Apple's default web browser, and ships with every copy of OS X. It offers many unique features, including thumbnail displays of your Top Sites. In addition, Safari is fast, one of the top performers in rendering a web site.
Safari web site
Firefox from Mozilla is one of the leading web browsers, regardless of computing platform.
It offers extensive compatibility with web sites, and is no slouch in performance.
Firefox web site
Stainless is a multi-process browser for the Mac that allows you to have multiple concurrent browsing sessions, each running independently of the others.
Stainless web site
Camino is an open source browser project based on Mozilla technologies. Designed for OS X, Camino provides some of the best security features available for browsing.
Camino's web site
OmniWeb from the Omni Group is a unique browser for OS X. It has many features not found in other browsers.
OmniWeb web site
Vote for Your Other Favorites:
Best Mac System Utility
Best Mac Backup Application
Best Application for Running Windows
Best Mac Consumer Image Editor
Best Mac Word Processor
Best Mac Office Suite
Best Mac Email Client
The Best Mac Email Client category is open to any application that provides general-purpose email capabilities. Nominations may include email clients that run on an individual's Mac as well as web-based email clients.
We selected the top five nominees in this category and now it's up to you to make the final decision.
Which Mac Email Client deserves to be this year's Reader's Choice Winner? Our Reader's Choice Poll will open for voting on February 1, and closes on February 25.
Winners will be announced in March.
Poll:Which Mac Email Client should be the Reader's Choice Winner?
Polling Has Closed
- Apple Mail 4.2
- Thunderbird 3.0
- Eudora Pro 6.2
- Entourage 2008
- Mailsmith 2.2
View Results
Click the appropriate link above to vote for your favorite Mac Email Client.
Apple Mail ships with OS X and is the default email client for the Mac. It offers spam filtering, rules, smart folders, and of course, ease of use.
Apple Mail web site
Thunderbird from Mozilla is a full-featured, secure email client with lots of capabilities and options. Multiple ways to view, as well as tag, your email is a nice touch.
Thunderbird web site
Eudora Pro is one of the oldest email clients available for the Mac. It offers the modern features you'd expect, yet retains much of its classic styling.
Eudora Pro web site
Entourage is the email client Microsoft includes with current and past versions of Office for the Mac. It provides not only email but also calendar and to do list functionality, and lets you coordinate your calendars with multiple users.
Entourage web site
Mailsmith, originally published by Bare Bones Software and now being developed by StickShift software, is a free email client for OS X. Its strength is a powerful built-in editor, along with easy-to-use filters and spam detection.
Mailsmith web site
Vote for Your Other Favorites:
Best Mac System Utility
Best Mac Backup Application
Best Application for Running Windows
Best Mac Consumer Image Editor
Best Mac Word Processor
Best Mac Office Suite
Best Mac Browser